Iran announces discovery of major gold deposit: media

TEHRAN: Iran has announced the discovery of a major gold deposit at one of the country’s biggest mines for the precious metal, local media reported Monday.

The new vein structure was found at the privately owned Shadan gold mine in the eastern province of South Khorasan, which Fars news agency described as “among the country’s most important”.

The agency said the new reserves have been officially validated by the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade.

“The proven reserves of the Shadan gold mine in the east of the country have experienced a significant increase following the discovery of a vast gold vein,” the report said.

It added that the vein holds some “7.95 million tonnes of oxide gold ore and 53.1 million tonnes of sulphide gold ore.”

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The former is usually significantly easier and cheaper to mine.

Iran has not officially disclosed the amount of its national gold reserves but claims to have significantly increased its purchases in recent years.

In September, Iran’s Central Bank governor Mohammadreza Farzin said the bank was one of the world’s top five gold-buying central banks in 2023-2024, according to ISNA news agency.

Local media also quoted central bank official Yekta Ashrafi as saying that boosting the gold reserves would help bolster the country’s economy under the weight of international sanctions.

Iran has 15 gold mines, with the largest being the Zarshouran mine located in the country’s northwest.

Iran’s economy has been crippled by sanctions imposed after the United States and Western capitals accused Tehran of seeking to weaponise its nuclear programme – an allegation Tehran consistently denies.

The country’s economy has come under further strain since the 12-day war triggered by Israel’s unprecedented attack on Iran, during which the United States briefly joined Israel in striking Iranian nuclear facilities.

Gold is also a safe haven for many Iranians whose purchasing power continues to erode due to soaring inflation and the chronic depreciation of the rial against the dollar.

On Monday, the US dollar traded at around 1.17 million rials on the informal market, while the euro stood at about 1.36 million rials, according to the exchange-rate tracking sites Bonbast and AlanChand.