Head of the Iran Stone Association Bahram Shakouri said in a news conference on Saturday afternoon tha the exhibition will be held with the participation of 110 Iranian companies along with companies from five other countries including China, India, Italy, Turkey and Greece.

The exhibitors will showcase their latest products and achievements in three main groups of mineral equipment and machinery, consumables and processing mines on a land area as large as 12,000 square meters.

He put the number of mining and mineral processing units in the country at more than 6,000, saying they have generated employment opportunities for about 600,000 job-seeking people.

Between 10 to 11 million tons of decorative stones are annually extracted in the country on average, he underlined.

Iran earns between $300 and $350 million foreign currency annually as a result of the export of quality decorated stone, Shakhouri concluded.