Iran announces plan to invest $1 bln in mineral project

Baku, Azerbaijan, June 16 By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation, known as IMIDRO, has prepared a plan for investing $1 billion in an iron ore concentrate and pelletizing projects. The plan is aimed at producing five million tons of iron ore concentrate and five million tons of pellets per year at Sangan mine, located in northeastern province of Khorasan Razavi, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on June 16. Sangan mine holds an estimated iron ore reserve of 1.2 billion tons. The project will come on stream by 2017. On April 23, IMIDRO director Mehdi Karbasian invited South Korean companies to invest in Sangan iron ore production and pelletizing projects, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on April 23. Ina meeting with the head of the International Contractors Association of Korea (ICAK) in Tehran, Karbasian said that according to the Iranian law, if foreign companies develop a mine in Iran, the will be given the right to operate the mine for 25 years. In December 2013, Abolfazl Poudehi, an Iranian economy ministry official said the mining sector of Iran requires $400 billion to meet objectives of the Fifth Five-Year National Development Plan (2010-2015). "The private sector, banks, and the capital market will secure some 60 percent of the necessary fund, and 40 percent will be provided through foreign sources," Poudehi stated. Iran is among the 15 major mineral-rich countries of the world and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India, and Afghanistan. Follow us on Twitter @TRENDNewsAgency