Iran currently ranks as the world's fourth leading gypsum producer with 13 million tons of output per annum, which constitutes 8.65 percent of the total production in the world, said a report released by the Public Relations Office of the Iran Mining House.
According to the latest statistics issued by the Ministry of Industries and Mines, and cited by MNA, Iran’s reservoir of gypsum is estimated at 2 billion tons of which 13 million tons is exploited each year. The gypsum exploitation comprises some 10 percent of the entire mining operation carried out each year in Iran.
The report indicated that some 6 million tons of gypsum has been exploited from 345 mines across the country by late in September 2004.
Meanwhile, 174,000 tons of gypsum valued at US$3 million has been exported in the first nine months of the current year (corresponding March 20, 2004 - March 21, 2005). The figures show a growth by 96.2 percent in weight and 82.2 percent in value compared with the same period last year.
