Some 130 domestic companies and representatives of foreign businesses present in Iran are attending the four-day event.
Several foreign companies have not been able to participate in this year’s Iran ConMin due to the Covid-19 pandemic, IRNA reported.
The exhibition, which will run through Feb. 3, is open to experts and businesspeople, and not the public, every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Iran’s mineral reserves currently stand at 55 billion tons, about 37 billion tons of which are proven. New explorations are expected to increase the figure by 30% to 60 billion tons by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2021).
The country is home to 68 types of minerals.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Iran holds the world's largest zinc, ninth largest copper, 10th largest iron ore, fifth largest gypsum and barite, and 10th largest uranium reserves.
Overall, Iran is home to more than 7% of global mineral reserves and is said to have the largest area under mineral exploration in the Middle East.
Latest data released by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization show Iran’s export of mineral products during the first three quarters of the current fiscal year (March 20-Dec. 21) stood at 29.5 million tons worth $4.11 billion. This marked a 44% and 39% decline in total volume and value year-on-year, respectively.
According to IMIDRO, steel topped the list of exports in terms of value with $2.17 billion and was followed by copper with $665.8 million and cement with $268.8 million.
In terms of tonnage, cement had the largest share with 13.22 million tons, followed by steel with 5.65 million tons.
The IMIDRO report further shows imports of mineral products stood at 3.02 million tons worth $2.37 billion during the same period. The figure shows an 18% increase in total volume and a 3% decrease compared with the same period of last year.
Steel also topped the list of mineral imports in terms of value with $991.78 million. It was followed by coal and coke with $208.12 million worth of imports. Aluminum products with $182.6 million came next, followed by titanium products with $110.95 million.
In terms of tonnage, coal and coke topped the list with 895,430 tons, followed by steel with 874,980 tons, alumina powder with 230,150 tons and aluminum products with 118,430 tons.