The Appeal of Iran's Mines for Foreign Investors

After the nuclear agreement and the lifting of international sanctions against Iran, foreign investors have set their sights on the wealth of natural resources and mines in Iran. Reuters reports that according to official statistics published by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, Iran possesses 68 mineral materials with a total natural reserve of about 43 billion tons, valued at nearly 700 billion dollars. Iran has a total of seven thousand mines, about 70 percent of which are active, employing over 620,000 people in the mining and industries sector. A summary of information from the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization regarding the country's mineral reserves is as follows: - Iron ore: In 2014, Iran produced about 34 million tons of iron ore and has approximately 2.4 billion tons of iron ore reserves. The majority of Iran's iron ore is extracted from the Gol Gohar and Chadormalu mines. - Steel: In 2014, Iran produced about 15 million tons of crude steel and aims to increase steel production to 52 million tons by 2015. - Gold: Iran has 250 tons (about eight million ounces) of raw gold reserves. In 2014, Iran launched the Zareh Shuran mining facility, which is said to be the largest gold extraction and production facility in the Middle East. - Copper: In 2014, Iran produced about 194,000 tons of raw (cathode) copper and plans to increase production to 800,000 tons by 2025. Iran has 2.6 billion tons of raw copper reserves, with one of the largest copper mines located at the Sar Cheshmeh facility in Kerman province. - Zinc: Iran has 11 million tons of zinc reserves. The Mehdi Abad project, which is one of the largest zinc reserves in the world, has been under study since the 1990s.