Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.1/ Trend F.Milad
Iran has invested over 5.28 trillion rials (some $430.6 million) in gold mines in the past Iranian calendar year which ended March 19, 2012, deputy Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Vajihollah Ja'afri said on Friday.
Investment in Iran's gold mines accounted for 88 per cent of the country's total investment in metal mines, the Mehr News Agency quoted Ja'fari as saying. Iran's proven gold reserves stand at 320 tons.
Jafari said in October that Iranian gold production currently stands at 2-2.5 tons per year.
This is while some reports in September had put Iran's gold output at four tons a year.
Iran will soon start gold extraction works at three new mines in Iran's Kurdistan province, Jafari added.
Jafari added that that there are some 16 tons of gold in all three mines valued at around $1,305 billion.
Jafari said that work on the Kurdistani gold mines would help boost and increase annual production of gold in the country which currently stands at 2-2.5 tons per year.
"Within the fifth development plan, Iran should be extracting some five tons of gold per year. Adding three new gold mines in Kurdistan, as well as the Takab gold mine in Western Azerbaijan province and Bazman gold mine in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran should be able to produce the desired five ton mark next year," Jafari said.
According to Iran's other Deputy Industry Minister Masoud Movahhedi, five gold mines are ready to be transferred to the private sector.
Iran currently has gold mines in Sistan and Baluchestan, Khorasan Razavi, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan and Kurdistan provinces, it also has a joint gold mine in Isfahan and Markazi provinces.
According to the country's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organisation, the country's total proven and probable gold reserves stand at 320 tons after the discovery of three new gold reserves with 16 tons of proven net gold deposits in April.