Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep.14/ Trend R.Zamanov /
Some 777,000 tons of minerals have been extracted from the mines of north-eastern province of South Khorasan from the beginning of the current calendar year (March 21) so far.
There are 323 active mines in the province, the IRIB News Agency reported.
The mines have created some 6,919 job opportunities.
South Khorasan Province is the 8th mineral-rich province of Iran.
China, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, European countries, and the Persian Gulf region states are the main destinations for the exported mineral items of the province.
Iran exported 10.512 million tons of mineral products worth $1.093 billion in the first four months of the current calendar year, which started on March 21.
The figures show 35 and 16 per cent increase in terms of value and weight compared to the same period of previous year, the Tasnim News Agency reported.
The mentioned amount accounts for 40.7 per cent of the country's total minerals exports goal in the current year.
Iran aims to export minerals worth $2.7 billion by the end of the current calendar year (March 20, 2014).
Iran's deputy minister of industry, mines and trade said in April that exports of the country's mineral industries grew by 38 percent last Iranian calendar year (which ended on March 20, 2013), Press TV reported.
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.