Iron ore concentrate production unit inaugurated in southeast Iran

TEHRAN,Sept.5(MNA) - Iran inaugurated a large iron ore concentrate production unit in the southeastern province of Kerman on Tuesday. The plant has the capacity to produce two million tons of iron ore concentrate per year. The project has created 750 direct and indirect jobs. Iranian Industry, Mine and Trade Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari, who attended the inauguration ceremony, said that Iran possesses two percent of the world’s total mineral reserves. He added that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores. Some 5,000 mines are being exploited in the country, he said, adding that around 340 million tons of minerals were extracted in the previous Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19. Meanwhile, the deputy director of Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization, Behrouz Borna, previously said that the Islamic Republic has the largest mineral reserves in the Middle East. Iran is also one of the top 15 countries in world in regard to mineral reserves and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Afghanistan.