BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 7. The depth of drilling works, related to exploration, carried out at Iranian mines by subsidiary companies operating under the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), increased by over 50,000 meters, during the first nine months of the current Iranian year compared to the same period last Iranian year, an official of the IMIDRO, Ahmad Fattahi said, Trend reports citing the organization’s website.
Fattahi said that in total, the companies operating under IMIDRO overall drilled some 207,000 meters in the mines. In the same period of the preceding year the figure was about 153,000 meters.
The official added that the drilling was mainly carried out mostly at iron ore, coal, polymetal, bauxite mines. The drilling work cost approximately 7.84 trillion rials (about $187 million), which is an increase of 140 percent compared to the same period last Iranian year.
“In the same period last Iranian year, the amount of money spent on mine drilling work amounted to 3.23 trillion rials (about $76.9 million),” he noted.
Reportedly, Iran's total mineral reserves stand at 60 billion tons. So far, 81 types of mining minerals have been discovered in the country.
In addition, 12,000 mines have been licensed for operation in the country, and 6,700 mines are operating.
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