Iran produces 250,000 tons of Celestine annually, says Mohammad Saleh Jokar, the head of Majlis Mining Commission.
"A considerable portion of the mineral is being sold without being processed. Celestine mines are mostly located in Semnan, Kohgilouyeh-Boyerahmad, Zanjan, Qom and Tehran provinces," the lawmaker said in an interview with IRIB News.
Jokar noted that a number of these mines are now inactive, due to financial problems.
Celestine, as a well-shaped mineral, occurs in sedimentary rocks across the world. Celestine is colorless but various impurities elaborate this crystalized mineral with the shade of soft blue, white, light red, green, or brown. Celestine is one of the richest sources of strontium.
Based on current estimations, Iran's Celestine reserves stand at 2 million tons, 75-95% of which are strontium sulfate.
Global Celestine reserves are estimated to stand at 7 billion tons.
Strontium sulfate directly is not a major feed in industries, but it has a huge consumption in the form of strontium carbonate in many industries such as color Cathode-Ray Tubes, pyrochemical process, ceramics, paint production, zinc purification process.
However, due to the lack of processing technologies, a large portion of Iran's Celestine output is exported, even though government regulations have banned the export of raw minerals.
Under these conditions, industries need for strontium carbonate must be met through imports.
Esfandyar Shahpasand, owner of a Celestine mine, believes that the government is not acting strictly when it comes to Celestine.
"If the government supports miners [by implementing restrictions on the material’s export], they will not export unprocessed minerals."
Iran is home to 68 types of minerals, with its reserves standing at 50 billion tons. Some 410 million tons of minerals were extracted from Iranian mines last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2020).
However, the mining sector remains underdeveloped, despite the fact that the country is among the top 10 mineral-rich countries.
The government control over mines, which leaves little role for the private sector, and exploration problems, coupled with lack of modern technology, are some of the reasons for the underdevelopment of the mining sector in Iran.
Exports of minerals are mainly in the form of raw materials, which generate far less revenue than processed products.
Latest data show a total of 15.69 million tons of mineral products worth $2.17 billion were exported from Iran in the first five months of the current fiscal year (March 20-Aug. 21).
According to a new report released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, steel topped the list of exports in terms of value with $1.11 billion. It was followed by copper with $334.12 million and cement with $120.98 million.
