TEHRAN – Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry signed a trilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Geological Survey and Mineral Explorations of Iran (GSI) and Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) for expansion of the country’s mining sector, IRNA reported.

The MOU was signed by Iran's Deputy Industry Mining, and Trade Minister Darioush Esmaili, GSI Head Alireza Shahidi and IMIDRO Head Khodadad Gharibpour during a meeting between the acting minister of industry, mining and trade and the representatives of the country’s mining sector.

Development of cooperation in the fields of exploration, extraction and processing of minerals, utilization of capacities, experiences and abilities of each sector, and attracting more investment from the country’s private sector and cooperatives in this industry were reported to be some of the main goals of the signed agreement.

Also, the implementation of exploration projects by Geological Survey and Mineral Explorations of Iran and the formation of a joint committee whose task is to review the proposed exploration projects were also among the important subjects mentioned in the MOU.

Back in April, Esmaili had said that the Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry has provisioned operational targets in the mining sector’s three major areas of exploration, extraction and processing, for the current year.

“In the mining industry sector, we have targeted a 25-percent increase in the production of mineral products, and in the exploration sector, we will add about 20 percent to the previous reserves.”

The mining sector accounted for 25 percent of the country’s non-oil revenues in the past Iranian calendar year (ended on March 19), he said.

Earlier that month, IMIDRO had also announced that mining exploration operations were underway in 652,061 square kilometers of land.

IMIDRO also plans to put projects worth $2.276 billion into operation during the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021).

According to Gharibpour, IMIDRO and its subsidiaries are going to implement 31 projects in a variety of fields including steel, copper, gold, antimony, nepheline syenite, phosphate and also mining infrastructure in the current year which is named the year of “Surge in Production” by the Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.

EF/MA