TEHRAN - The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) is making 19 trillion rials (about $38 million) of investment to develop infrastructures and supply electricity to the country’s mines.

According to IMIDRO, the organization has signed 28 deals for the development of infrastructure of private mines across the country, of which 21 projects are related to road construction and seven projects are related to electricity supply to mines.

Back in March, the director of IMIDRO’s plan for building necessary infrastructure in large mines and mining areas said the necessary infrastructure would be provided for 30 mines across the country by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (started in late March).

Having 68 different types of minerals, including the world’s largest copper, zinc and iron reserves, Iran is one of the top 10 mineral-rich countries across the globe. In this regard, the Iranian government has been seriously pursuing several programs for promoting the mining sector as a major contributor to the country’s economic growth.

Iran's proven iron ore reserves are 2.7 billion tons (about 0.8 of the world's total reserves), while the country’s copper reserves are 2.6 billion tons (about 0.4 of the world's reserves). The country also has 11 million tons of zinc reserves (about four percent of the world’s total reserves).

The total proven reserves of Iran's mines are estimated at about 60 billion tons, which is expected to reach more than 100 billion tons with the implementation of the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry’s exploration programs over 500,000 square kilometers of new mineral zones.

Despite the country’s huge potential in this area, due to some issues like the lack of necessary machinery and equipment and the lack of access to financial resources and foreign investment because of the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian mining sector has been struggling to operate at its maximum capacity over the past few years.

So, the government programs for promoting this industry are mainly focused on relying on domestic sources to help the mining sector overcome its current problems and hit its ideal targets.

EF/