EghtesadOnline: Iran’s two major coal companies produced 303,440 tons of coal concentrates in the five months since the beginning of the current fiscal year (March 21-Aug. 22), recording a 36% growth compared with last year’s similar period, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization reported.

EghtesadOnline: Coal transportation through the railroads managed by Islamic Republic of Iran Railways’ Sharq (East) Department topped 51,000 tons in the Iranian month to May 21, up 51% compared with the corresponding period of a year before, according to Mohammad Ebrahim Eqbali, director general of the department, which is in charge of the railroads in Iran’s eastern provinces.

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s two major coal companies extracted 1.68 million tons of coal and produced 602,958 tons of coal concentrate in the last fiscal year (March 2016-17), which indicates a 21% and 12.95% growth compared with the year before respectively, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization reported on its website.

EghtesadOnline: Central Alborz Coal Company’s Savadkouh coal preparation plant was inaugurated on Tuesday by deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, Mehdi Karbasian, in the northern Mazandaran Province.

EghtesadOnline: The Iranian coal industry, long underutilized despite its massive potential, is capable of driving the mining sector, boost energy production and create the sorely-needed jobs envisioned in the Sixth Five-Year Development Plan (2017-22).

EghtesadOnline: Iran’s two major coal producers extracted 1.32 million tons of coal and produced 482,150 tons of coal concentrate during the 10 months to January 19, registering a 15% and 23% growth in extraction and production respectively compared with last year’s corresponding period.

EghtesadOnline: Reports emerged last week that Iran is taking steps to build its first-ever power plant that would burn coal for electricity generation. The news has invited mixed reactions; environmental groups say that burning coal would cause pollution and contribute to global warming, while officials have spoken up in favor of the plan.