Seven mining projects to come on stream

TEHRAN,Aug.23(MNA) - Seven projects in the field of mining and mineral industries are ready to be inaugurated in Iran, the head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization stated. The projects are related to power plant, coke production, iron ore extraction, leaching, and sponge iron production sectors, Fereydoun Ahmadi added. Some 6.75 trillion rials (around $550 million) has been invested in the projects, he noted. Deputy head of Iran's Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization Behrouz Borna has said that the country ranks first in the Middle East for possessing the region's largest mineral reserves. “Iran holds three percent of the world's mineral reserves, which puts the country first in the Middle East and third in Asia,” Borna added, Press TV reported. Iran is ranked among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Afghanistan.