Iran Holds 3b Tons of Decorative Stone Reserves

Iran holds 3 billion tons of decorative stone reserves, says an executive of Iran Stones Association.

Some 16 million tons of decorative stones are extracted in Iran every year, which is far less that the 27-million-ton extraction capacity, Seifollah Arasteh was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.

Many of Iran’s decorative stone mines have gone out of business due to the unfavorable economic climate facing the sector. The after-effects of economic sanctions imposed by the West on Iran over its nuclear energy program, which were officially lifted last year as part of a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, and the restrictions enforced by the government over unprocessed mineral exports have weakened the domestic sector’s standing in the international markets.