Ethiopia has more than 70 million tons of iron ore deposit in Amhara, Oromia and Tigray region, the Geological Survey of Ethiopia announced.
“About 57.8 million tons of the stated deposit is found in Oromia Region,” chief geologist at the Organization, Hunde Melka, said. The Addis Abeba Chamber of Commerce & Sectoral Associations (ACCSA) Trade & Investment Expansion director, Gashaw Abate, said currently the local demand for iron is high. According to a recent study, the demand will continue because of huge government projects as well as private activities.
Investors will benefit if they engage in extraction and development of iron. Iron ore is the key element for the manufacturing of steel, local demand for iron is expected to continue because of the infrastructure development in the country, Hunde said. Extraction and development of the resources could be another investment opportunity for the country.
The 2012/13 fiscal year was marked by a mining export shortfall of 255 million dollars, largely due to poor gold exports. The target set for 2013/14 is a billion dollars, up from 848.3 million dollars the previous year.
Addis Fortune