30% Rise in Mineral Exploration Permits

The Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade issued 475 mineral exploration permits in the first six months of the current fiscal year (March 21-Sept. 22), indicating a 30.5% growth compared witho last year’s similar period, the ministry’s statistics and data processing department reported. Iran is home to 68 types of minerals with over 37 billion tons of proven and 57 billion tons of potential reserves, including large deposits of coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, uranium and gold. The numbers, although substantial, could prove inadequate for the realization of the industry’s capacity expansion targets. The 20-Year Vision Plan (2005-25) stipulates the annual production of 55 million tons of steel, 800,000 tons of copper, 1.5 million tons of aluminum, 300,000 tons of zinc and 5 tons of gold by the end of 2025.