International Uranium Resources Evaluation Project (IUREP) national favourability studies: Iran

Iran is on the southern flank of the Alpine-Himalayan mountain system and has within its extensive boundaries rocks ranging from crystalline metamorphics and igneous rocks of Precambrian age to sediments of Tertiary - Pleistocene age, some of which could be considered as potentially favourable for uranium deposits. The search for uranium started about 1959 and in the following years some 40 radioactive anomalies and a small number of uranium occurrences were identified. In 1977 the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran greatly expanded its exploration activities and contracted for 895,000 line kilometres to be flown by three contractors in an aerial spectrometric survey designed to cover almost the two fifths of the whole country. The follow-up of this survey will continue for several years. Purely on the basis of its size (1,648,004 km2), its several favourable host rock areas, its location on the flank of the Alpine-Himalayan system and the relatively small amount of systematic exploration coverage completed to date the Speculative Potential could be placed in the 50,000 - 100,000 tonnes category. (author)