BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 1
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
The process of restoring operations of small mines in Iran will continue this Iranian year (starting March 20, 2020), said Chairman of House of Industry, Mine and Trade of Iran Abdolvahab Sahlabadi, Trend reports citing the organization's website.
According to Sahlabadi, one of the achievements of the mining sector was the resumption of small-scale mining last Iranian year (from March 21, 2019 to March 20, 2020).
Sahlabadi added that the development of the non-oil economy requires more attention to the industrial and manufacturing sectors.
The chairman said that exporters have faced a problem after falling oil prices. In his words, because of the United States sanctions imposed on Iran, the country Iran does not pay much attention to the sale of oil, but is focusing on other sectors instead.
"There has been a major turnaround in Iranian production in recent years. Until now, there was a plan to manufacture final product by importing raw materials. However, currently, a lot of equipment and raw materials are supplied within the country at the initiative of local manufacturers," he said.
According to the report of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade of Iran, 5,500 mines operated in the country last Iranian year.
Iran produces an average of 400 million tons of mining items a year.
According to report of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), 146 small mines were restored last year.
Iran has about 60 billion tons of mineral reserves, out of which 40 billion tons can be extracted.