Azerbaijan, Baku, Apr.1/ Trend G.Mehdi/
More than 5600 mines are being worked in Iran, IRNA quoted Iranian Deputy Industry Minister for Mining Activities Vajihollah Jafari as saying.
The country's proven mineral reserves amount to 40 billion tons, he added. Some 7600 mines have been discovered across the country, he noted.
In January, IRNA quoted Iranian Industry, Mine, and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari as saying that Iran's existing mineral reserves will be sustained for 140 years if 400 million tons of the reserves are extracted annually.
Iran's discovered mineral reserves are valued at over $770 billion, he noted.
In September 2012, Ghazanfari said that Iran possesses two per cent of the world's total mineral reserves.
He added that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores.
Iran holds three per cent of the world's mineral reserves, putting it first in the Middle East and third in Asia.
Iran has about 68 kinds and 20 other types of minerals have been identified through recent explorations.
Iran's mineral produce includes coal, metallic elements, sand and gravel, chemical minerals and salt. It has the world's largest zinc reserves, holds the second largest copper deposits and ranks ninth for its iron reserves.