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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
Iran's mineral wealth, in addition to oil and gas, includes
chromite, lead, zinc, copper, coal, gold, tin, iron, manganese,
ferrous oxide, and tungsten. Commercial extraction of significant
reserves of turquoise, fireclay, and kaolin is also possible. Most
mining was small scale until modernization efforts in the 1960s led
to the systematic recording of known deposits, as well as the
systematic search for new ones. Industrialization increased the
need for steel, which in turn boosted demand for coal, iron ore,
and limestone. Construction of new roads and railroads since the
1960s improved transportation among mining centers throughout the
country, especially around the Kerman/Bafq area of south- central
Iran.
Prior to the Revolution in 1979, the government intended to
develop the copper industry to the point that it would rival oil as
a source of foreign exchange. Iranian copper deposits are among the
world's largest, and mining is particularly advanced southwest of
Kerman near Sirjan. The Iran-Iraq War risks and declining world
copper prices inhibited copper extraction, which prior to FY 1982
had remained insignificant. The government, however, promoted
private sector investment in copper in FY 1982, which may have been
responsible for the improved copper output in 1983.
In the 1980s, Iran's major nonmetallic mineral exports were
chromite and construction stone. Iran's total chromite reserves
were estimated at 20 to 30 million tons in 1987. Exports of
construction stone to the Persian Gulf countries increased 200
percent in 1986 over the previous year.
The government conducted surveys in the 1970s to ascertain the
commercial potential of known mineral deposits. By 1977 about half
the country had been surveyed from the air, but less than one-fifth
had been explored on the ground. Studies of mineral deposits
throughout the country were completed in the mid-1980s, detailing
the most recent discoveries of reserves of silica, limestone,
granite, and iron ore. In addition, several uranium deposits were
discovered in Baluchestan va Sistan in August 1986, and in
September 1986 another 750,000 tons of white kaolin deposits on the
Iran-Afghanistan border near Birjand were reported.
The extent of mineral resources was indicated by the fact that
approximately 2.7 million tons of minerals were extracted from 27
active mines in Yazd Province in FY 1986. Iran earned a total of
US$85 million from mineral exports in that year.
Data as of December 1987
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