Iranian Mineral Exploration Area Largest in Middle East

Iran has the largest area under mineral exploration in the Middle East, the deputy minister of industries, mining and trade said.
“The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation, the biggest state-owned holding in the mining sector of Iran, plans to cover 300,000 square kilometers of the country's explorable land for mineral explorations by the end of the current fiscal (March 19, 2020),” Khodadad Gharibpour also said in an address to a conference held in Tehran on Tuesday.
IMIDRO carried out exploration over 270,000 square kilometers during President Hassan Rouhani's first term in office (August 2013-17).
According to Gharibpour, who is also the chairman of IMIDRO, 65% of Iran’s total explorable mineral areas (1 million kilometers) belong to the organization, IRNA reported.
He said IMIDRO’s investment in Iran's mining sector will reach $3.9 billion by the end of the current [fiscal] year [ending March 2020], adding that 10,000 direct jobs as well as thousands of indirect jobs will be created in the process.