“Iran is willing to help Afghanistan develop as a friend and neighboring country and now there are good opportunities for bilateral cooperation with respect to Sangan Iron Ore Complex,” said the Chairman of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Mehdi Karbasian.
According to IRNA, Sangan Iron Ore Complex (SIOC) is located in Khorasan Razavi Province which also overlooks Afghanistan on its eastern side.
The IMIDRO Chairman announced Iran’s readiness to build a joint factory between the two countries.
“Afghanistan possesses huge resources of iron ore and we are fully ready to explore and process the iron ore and there is a possibility to produce ingots out of iron ore for Iran owns enormous natural gas resources,” Karbasian said.
He also pointed to the common border between the two countries and said constructing Tehran-Herat railway will be beneficial for both sides because it eases the transportation of minerals.
“During the former Afghan government, we didn’t have sufficient collaboration with China and India in exploration and that is why we chose Iran as one of the rich countries in the realm of mines,” said the Acting Director of Afghanistan Geological Survey Taher Rezai.