Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb.11 / Trend, F. Mehdi /
Iran has invested 131 billion Rials (about $10.6 million) in 15 mining projects, the IRNA quoted Deputy Industry Minister Fereydoon Ahmadi as saying.
The projects are related to building access roads to mines and supplying power to them, he added.
In January, the IRNA quoted Iranian Industry, Mine, and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari as saying that Iran's existing mineral reserves will sustain for 140 years if 400 million tons of the reserves are extracted annually.
Iran's known mineral reserves are valued at over $770 billion, he noted.
Potential mineral reserves are estimated to be 57-58 billion tons, of which 37-38 billion tons have been proven, he said.
On September 4, 2012, Ghazanfari said that Iran possesses two percent of the world's total mineral reserves.
He added that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores.
About 5,000 mines are being exploited in the country, he stated, adding that around 340 million tons of minerals were extracted in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19.
Earlier this year, Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization Deputy Director Behrouz Borna said that the Islamic Republic of Iran has the largest mineral reserves in the Middle East.
Iran is also one of the top 15 countries in the world in regard to mineral reserves and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Afghanistan, he stated.