Azerbaijan, Baku, July 10/ Trend N. Umid/
Some 55 billion tons of potential mineral reserves have been discovered in Iran, Iran's Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade announced, Donya-e-eqtesad daily reported.
Holding some 40 billion tons of proven reserves alongside 15 billion tons of probable reserves and there being more than 60 types of mineral reserves in the country provides a big opportunity for development of the mining sector in Iran.
He said that according to international studies, the rate of productivity to outlay in mining sector is $2.8 per each dollar. Iran is among world's top 10 countries for its variety of minerals. The amount of that extracted during the last three solar years (started on March 21, 2010) was 285 million tons, 340 million tons and 400 million tons respectively.
Iran has planned to extract 570 million tons of various minerals per year at the end of the fifth Five-Year Socioeconomic Development Plan, which will end in 2015, the report said.
According to the report, despite country's huge mineral reserves and wide area, the investment amount in this sector is too low. The country's mineral reserves are valued at more than $770 billion, the Iranian industry, mining and trade minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said On January 15.
He underlined that mining sector can play a major role in helping Iran overcome the US-led sanctions. Iran which has lost a half its oil revenue since 2012, is to compensate the export drop by replacing minerals exports and taxes revenues with crude oil income.