Economics
Iran's Mines Could Bring in Even More Cash Than Crude
- Metals discovered from exploration worth about $700 billion
- Copper, steel, lead and cement among Iran's mining resources
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Iran, OPEC’s fifth-largest crude producer, has potential to generate more revenue from mining than it does from crude if the government puts more focus on developing the metals sector, according to Mojtaba Khosrowtaj, first deputy minister in charge of trade at Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade.
Metals such as copper and lead and higher-priced rare earth elements could be worth “much more” than the nation’s oil industry revenue of about $30 billion, assuming crude at $40 a barrel and exports of 2 million barrels a day, Khosrowtaj said in an interview. Iran is opening $30 billion of energy projects and $29 billion of mining deals to investors once international sanctions are lifted.