TEHRAN- The mines of Iran have 27 widely used minerals, according to the head of the Iranian Mining Engineering Organization (IMEO).

Taqi Nabi said that Iran produces 13 major minerals in the world and is among the top 10 countries in this due.

He further referred to the government’s plan for reviving the idle mines across the country, and said, “The government has taken good steps to return the closed mines to the production cycle, and good expert measures have been taken.”

Mining units are given a three-month opportunity to determine the status of stagnant and inactive mines in order to revive them, he added.

He further stated that the most important reasons for the stagnation of the activities of the country's mining units are the financial problems of investors, the wear and tear of machinery and disagreements among the governmental and local bodies.

In mid-October, the previous head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) had announced that 157 idle small-scale mines had been revived throughout the country since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20).

Saying that the mentioned mines had been reactivated as part of a comprehensive program for reviving idle small mines across the country, Khodadad Gharibpour also announced that 200 mines were planned to be put back into operation by the end of the year.

As reported, under the framework of the mentioned program, 672 idle mines have been identified and prioritized in the current Iranian calendar year, and diagnostic procedures have been performed on 194 mines to determine the reasons for the halt in their production.

According to Gharibpour, since the beginning of the program in March 2019 up to date 303 mines had been revived.

The mentioned program, which has been at the forefront of IMIDRO's missions over the past two years, is being pursued in several provinces.

The head of IMIDRO has mentioned this plan as one of the most significant plans of “Resistance Economy”, saying that IMIDRO is strongly determined to carry out it.

Reviving the small mines not only is a major step toward materializing “Surge in Production”, which is the motto of the current Iranian calendar year, it also plays a significant role in job creation throughout the country, Gharibpour said back in June.

As reported, reviving the small mines has created 300 job opportunities in the first quarter of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-June 20).

Following this program, so far various small-scale mines including chromite, manganese, hematite, and dolomite, iron ore, copper, and construction stone mines have been surveyed by monitoring and diagnosing the problems of the mines and providing solutions for resolving their issues.

MA/MA