New gold reserves discovered in Iran

Recent explorations have led to identification of new reserves of gold at Iran’s Zarshouran gold mine, Mohammad Reza Ahmadi, manager of Zarshouran Gold Complex, said.

He said that the explorations indicate that the mine contains 108 tons of gold with purity of four grams per ton, Ahmadi said, ISNA news agency reported July 5.

The Zarshouran gold mine’s proven reserve was 80 tons based on former estimates, he added.

The exploration operations are still underway in the region, Ahmadi said, adding some 600 kilograms of gold ingots as well as 300 kilograms of silver is projected to be produced by the complex during the current fiscal year (started March 20).

He further said that the Zarshouran complex’s gold and silver output stood at 175 and 110 kilograms respectively during the last fiscal year.

Iran’s annual gold output is projected to reach seven tons by 2018 by completing the projects that are underway currently. Iran’s largest gold processing complex, Zarshouran will share six tons of that figure. The complex is located near the city of Takab in Iran’s northwestern West Azerbaijan province.