Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.12/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iran's Hamedan Province has 1.7 billion tons of proven mineral reserves, ISNA quoted the provincial head of the industry, mine and trade organization Mohammad-Mehdi Farshchi as saying.
It is expected that some 8 million tons of minerals are extracted from mines across the province in the current calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2013, he added.
So far, 28 minerals have been discovered in the province, he noted.
Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari has said that Iran holds two percent of the world's total mineral reserves.
He added that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores.
Some 5,000 mines are being exploited in the country, he said, adding that around 340 million tons of minerals were extracted in the past year, which ended on March 19.
Meanwhile, the deputy head of Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization Behrouz Borna has said that the country ranks first in the Middle East for possessing the region's largest mineral reserves, Press TV reported.
Iran is ranked 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.