BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 15. Mining exploration activities in Iran during the 10 months of the current Iranian year (from March 20, 2024, through January 19, 2025) have increased by over 27 percent compared to the same period last year (from March 21, 2023, through January 20, 2024), Ahmad Fattahi Mojalej, the head of the Exploration Department of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), told local media, Trend reports.
He stated that, during the reporting period a total of 592,000 meters of exploration drilling was completed. This is up from 467,000 meters in the same period the previous year (from March 21, 2023, through January 20, 2024).
Fattahi also mentioned that Iran plans to conduct 653,000 meters of exploration drilling during the current year (from March 20, 2024, through March 20, 2025), with 90.7 percent of this target already achieved within the first ten months. The previous year’s drilling efforts reached 556,000 meters during the same period.
"The investment in exploration activities during this period totaled 36 trillion rials (about $63.5 million), primarily spent on geological mapping, geochemistry, geophysics, and other related areas," Fattahi noted.
To note, about 12,000 mines operate in Iran. Reports indicate that Iran's mine reserves exceed 50 billion tons. Production from mines in Iran averages more than 400 million tons per year.
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