Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan.25
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
A Kazakh company will invest $70 million to develop a gold mine in Iran, ISNA reported on January 25.
The report did not mention the name of the company, but said $45 million has been so far invested in the Sarigouni gold mine project and the first phase of the project will come on stream in September 2014.
The Kazakh side will have the right to extract gold from the mine for 16-20 years.
The mine's output is expected to be around one ton per year. The mine holds about 14.5 million tons of gold ore with 1.2 grams per ton purity.
In May 2013, IRNA quoted deputy head of the Geological Survey of Iran Behrouz Borna as saying that Iran's gold reserves are estimated to be over 340 tons.
Fifteen gold mines are being operated across the country, and two others will be added in the current year, Borna said.
Iran ranks 12th in Asia and 42nd in the world in terms of gold reserves, he added.
The country's gold production capacity is projected to hit 10 tons in the current Iranian calendar year, which ends on March 20, 2014, he noted.
