Tehran, Iran – Iran’s in-situ and proven mineral reserves are now worth more than $15 billion, the director general of Iran’s Department of Exploration Affairs announced on Tuesday.
The reserves, according to Ebrahim Ali Molabeigi, encompass six different minerals comprising iron ore, lead and zinc, gold, copper, antimony, and coal.
Molabeigi said that over 1.580 billion tons of proven mineral reserves have been discovered and officially approved. He noted that discoveries in 2022 included around 100 million tons of iron ore concentrate, approximately 79 million tons of gold concentrate, and 1.32 billion tons of copper concentrate.
Highlighting the economic significance of these discoveries, Molabeigi placed the value of the gold reserves discovered in the previous year at more than $355 million.
The newfound reserves were identified in multiple provinces across Iran, including Sistan and Balouchestan, Kerman, Kordestan, Khorasan Razavi, South Khorasan, Yazd, Isfahan, Markazi, East Azarbaijan, and Semnan.