BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 13. The volume of minerals extracted from mines in the Mahabad Country of Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province increased by 34 percent over the last Iranian year (March 21, 2022 through March 20, 2023), compared to the preceding year (March 21, 2021 through March 20, 2022), Director of the Industry, Mine and Trade Department of Mahabad County, Hamid Ramazani told IRNA, Trend reports.
The director noted that in total, 837,000 tons of various minerals were extracted from mines of Mahabad County for the last Iranian year.
Ramazani added that currently, there are 177 mines in Mahabad County of West Azerbaijan Province, and 40 of them are active mines.
According to him, the activity of 14 mines in the mentioned county was suspended due to a number of problems.
The director also pointed out that attracting investment in the county's mining sector can lead to economic development, increased income, and employment.
Iran’s West Azerbaijan Province contains 1.13 billion tons of mineral reserves. On average, 16 million tons of minerals are extracted from the province’s mines annually.
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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