Baku, Azerbaijan, May 21
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iran ranks 10th in the world for volume of mineral production.
Geological Survey of Iran President Mohammad Taghi Karei said the country ranks 15th for the value of mineral production, Iran's ISNA news agency reported on May 21.
The country's ranking has not changed in recent years, indicating that the mining sector has not developed, he added.
Iran has the potential to extract up to 80 minerals through expanding exploration operations, IRIB quoted chairman of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Mehdi Karbasian as saying on January 6.
So far, 68 minerals have been identified and extracted across the country, he added.
However, exploration operations have been carried out just over 100,000 square meters of the country, he said.
Iran holds 3 percent of the world's mineral reserves which puts the country first in the Middle East and third in Asia.
Iran exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Afghanistan.
The important mines of Iran include coal, metallic minerals, sand and gravel, chemical minerals and salt.
The country has the world's largest zinc and second largest copper deposits and ranks ninth for its iron reserves.