Official: Iran Enjoys 27.3 Trillion Worth of Wealth in Natural, Mineral Resources
“Iran ranks fifth in the world with $27.3 trillion in natural and mineral reserves, after the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Canada,” Esmaeili said.
Noting that $1.4 trillion of this amount is allocated to the mining sector, he said, "So far, only $29 billion of these reserves have been discovered, which is equivalent to 2 percent of the country's mineral capacity."
"If Iran brings mineral processing to a global level, it can gain over $10 trillion in added value from its mineral reserves,” Esmaeili said.
In relevant remarks in April, Deputy Minister and Chairman of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO)’s Executive Board Mohammad Aqajanlou announced that the country had exploited $2 billion of mining projects in the past Persian calendar year (ended on March 20).
“$2 billion of mining project was exploited last year,” Aqajanlou said.
He added that Mehdi Abad zinc concentrate, Kahnouj titanium slag and a number of projects in the field of copper industry, steel chain and infrastructure are among the projects that have been put into operation.
“Ghadir Neyriz steel and graphite electrode projects were also completed at the end of last year and are now ready for launch,” Aqajanlou said.
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