Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.8 / Trend F.Milad/
Iran produced 127,500 tons of lead and zinc during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year which began on March 20, 2012.
The amount shows an eight per cent increase compared to the same period last year, the IRNA News Agency reported.
The total output of zinc and lead amounted to 16,900 tons in the ninth calendar month.
The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organisation (IMIDRO) announced on November 4 that the zinc ingot production capacity of the Bandar Abbas Zinc Production Factory will reach 18,000 tons by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2013).
Deputy Head of Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organisation Behrouz Borna said in August that Iran holds three per cent of the world's mineral reserves which puts the country first in the Middle East and third in Asia.
Iran is among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Afghanistan.
The important Iranian mines include coal, metallic minerals, sand and gravel, chemical minerals and salt. Iran has the world's largest zinc and second largest copper deposits and ranks ninth for its iron reserves.