Seifollah Arasteh made the remarks adding that the annual extraction capacity from decorative stone mines stood at 27 million tons though only 16 million tons are being extracted. “Accordingly, current extraction figures for decorative stones are 11 million tons lower than the nominal capacity and 11 million tons below the international standard.”
The official evaluated decorative stone and gravel as advantages of Iran’s mining sector which have numerous customers in domestic and international markets though the value added and profitability of the area is far from substantial mainly due to weaknesses in production and excessive raw sales.
Arasteh went on to underscore that completion of chain of related industries and optimal use of the capacity offered by decorative stones as well as processing of machinery and industrial products in the field are key to job and wealth creation; “majority of exports from Iran are being done in the form of raw stone and without processing giving way to target countries to enjoy great benefit by completing the processing chain on their own,” he emphasized.
Deputy head of Mining Commission at Stone Association of Iran called for strengthening and completion of processing chain and prevention of selling raw materials stating that value added and wealth creation are driving forces for industries to get out of recession and boost production.”
He maintained that equipment of mining and processing units with modern machinery is inevitable because the measure leads to an increase in production quality, cost reduction as well as attraction of customers.
“Products can be exported only if they are place in a competitive and market-friendly condition, an aim which can be attained by boosting efficiency,” stressed the official adding “creation of opportunities for development of Iran’ stone exports remains as an inevitable necessity.”
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