Iran Daily reported that Iran's annual steel production capacity currently stands at 20 million tonnes and the country ranked 17th in the world in this field.

Mr Vajhollah Jafari deputy industries, mines and trade minister for mines and mineral industries said that based on the Vision 2025 the figure should increase to 55 million tonnes.

He pointed out that some 300 million tonnes of mineral products are being extracted from 68 minerals which have so far been identified in the country. Iran sits on 57 billion tonnes of mineral reserves adding the country stands at 10th place in the world in this respect.

According to the World Steel Association, Iran was the second leading steel producer in the Middle East in 2010 after Turkey. The major raw steel producers of Iran are the Mobarakeh Steel Mill with approximately 47% of the market share, the Khuzestan Steel Company with about 23% the Isfahan Foundry with about 20% and the Iran National Steel Industries Group with approximately 10% of the market share.

Iran is among the 15 major mineral rich countries and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159 countries including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India and Afghanistan.

Source - Iran Daily

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