TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, 40 idle mines have been revived in Sistan-Baluchestan Province, in the southeast of Iran, since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2020).

Mandana Zanganeh, the deputy governor-general of the province for economic affairs, said that there are currently 384 active mines in the province, with a nominal capacity of 24 million tons, which constitute three percent of minerals extraction capacity in the country.

The official said that over 7,000 persons are working in the mines of the province.

According to the available statistics, the number of active mines in the country is more than 5,600 mines, from which an average of 400 million tons of various minerals are extracted annually, and the share of construction materials is estimated at 60 to 65 percent.

Currently, 257 mines are being equipped as part of a comprehensive program for reviving idle small-scale mines across the country.

Reviving 200 idle mines and setting up 25 processing units have been planned for the current Iranian year (ends on March 20, 2021).

Last year, 146 mines were revived throughout the country.

According to the information released by Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), the most small-scale inactive mines are located in Khorasan Razavi Province and the least of them are located in the south of Kerman Province and North Khorasan Province.

MA/MA