Iran plans to more than double its steel production by 2025 and boost its exports once international sanctions are lifted, said a report.

The country also has $29 billion worth investments in the mining sector which has been receiving strong interest from European and Asian companies.

Iran has planned projects ranging from steel to aluminium production, gold mining and copper, Mehdi Karbasian, deputy minister of Iran’s Ministry of Industries, Mines and Trade, was quoted as saying in a Times of Oman report.

German, French and Dutch delegations visited Iran in the past few weeks, and a two-day seminar on steel opportunities is tentatively set for September on Kish Island in the Gulf, he said.

The companies looking to invest don’t want to be identified until sanctions are removed, he added.

Iran possesses 3,000 active mines, mostly privately owned, with 9 per cent of the world’s gypsum production and 2 per cent of molybdenum and nitrogen output, according to a 2010 report by the US Geological Survey.

Oil producers such as BP and Royal Dutch Shell have expressed interest in developing Iran’s crude reserves, the world’s fourth-biggest, said the report.

Karbasian said that the sanctions imposed on Iran did certainly hurt the Iranian people and also slowed development in steel and other fields, but the investment in Iran when sanctions are lifted will be a win-win situation.