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11. Antimony. —Found in the form of sulphate or oxide of antimony to the
west and south of Anarak. There are expectations from the surroundings of the
Benan Mountain.
12. Manganese. —Manganese has been found at Meskarabad, a village near
lehran, at Robat Kerim, at Anarak, in the mountains to the south of Yezd and
close to the Sahand Mountain.
13. Iron. —More than 40 iron mines have been discovered and many others
will probably be located.
The mines at Bafagh and Narikan, north of Nain, have given the best results.
Other mines are near Semnan, Damghan, Kashan, Ardshe, Meskarabad : iron
deposits exist at Chalous, Noe-Shahr, in the mountains of Takhteh-Suleiman, at
Anarak, at Kouheh Banan and in other regions. There are, moreover, large
reserves of iron in the clayey soil and ash deposits in Mazanderan where the fer
ruginous nature of the ground stretches from the south of Amol to the Caspian
Shore. It may be stated with certitude that Iran has a great reserve of iron. In
addition there are the red oxide mines at Hormuz.
14. Asbestos. —Asbestos is found in the neighbourhood of Meshed, Kouhe,
Banon (near Tehran), Kashan, Anarak and the mountains of Golpayeean.
I he Department of Mines has recently been giving much attention to samples
of asbestos, of which some have been sent to Europe for analysis and assay. Should
these give satisfaction to manufacturers of asbestos, this mineral branch will take a
preponderant place in exports from Iran.
15. " Term r{fraclaire.—{Y\vQ Clay). The presence of this, and of Terre de Chine,
is certain in many regions of Iran. The mines between Tehran and Qum are very
good as are also the mines at Ghamabad. Other mines are in Mazanderan,
Khorassan, at Shiraz and Anarak.
A summary of studies up to date shows the following results :
In Iran are found all the metals found in other parts of the world. Platinum,
one of the rarest metals which one did not expect to find in Iran, exists in the nickel
deposits at Anarak. Studies made in the matter, particularly at the mines of
Kaval show that lumps of nickel weighing a ton contain four grammes of platinum.
Other expensive metals are found in several regions of Iran, the richest area
being at Anarak, 30 Kilometres north east of Nain, but unfortunately this is some-
what far from important centres : this drawback will, however, be remedied.
B.ock Salt. Is available practically all over the country, and other salt on the
shores of Lake Eezaieh (Urmia) and in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. .
There is little information about Sets de potasse in Iran. Thick layers of
plaster exist near Aran in the region of Mamane, 35 Kilometres to the north east
of Mianeh : a second layer is above the first layers and a third layer of a reddish
colour covers the two layers. This third layer is composed of potash and chloride
of hydrated magnesia.
Alum. Is found at Zandjan, also near Deh Rouzdar between Alamut and
Mendjil, near Talesh and near Kazvin.
Borax.—Mich deposits have been found at Babak near Dehparise, and the
marshes in that region are being exploited for soda and calcium also. Oilier
deposits are foreseen in the mountains near Sabzehvar and in the neighbourhood
of Lake Rezaieh.
Nitre .—No natural deposits.
Sulphur.—Is found in the gassous state, or sedimentary in springs of mineral
waters. The first sort is in volcanic craters, i.e., the top of Demavand and Kouhe
Taftane (55 miles South of Zahedan) in Mekran. The second sort is found south
of Semnan, west of Bandar Abbas, on the Islands of Hormuz and Qishm, near
Bush ire, at Takhte Suleiman and in the mountains of Kurdistan.
Turquoise have been extracted from the mine at Nishapour for very many
years. Rubies are found in the neighbourhood of Meshed.
Plaster y which is abundant, has been extensively used in connexion with rail
way construction. Local travertin has been used for the railway station at Tehran.
Marble is found at Tourane in Khorassan. Aragonite of good colour and re
sembling marble is mined near Yezd.
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