Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep.4/ Trend F.Milad/
A large iron ore concentrate production unit was inaugurated in Iran's south eastern Kerman province on Monday.
The plant has the capacity to produce two million tons of iron ore concentrate per annum, the IRNA news agency reported. The project has also created some 750 direct and indirect job opportunities.
Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari has said that Iran holds two per cent of the world's total mineral reserves. He added that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores.
Some 5000 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 Organisation 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.