TEHRAN – There are 11,800 mining units in the country, of which just 6,800 units are active and the rest are inactive, an official with Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry announced.

Reza Mohtashami-Pour, the deputy minister for mines and mineral processing, said more than 60 to 70 percent of the reasons for the inactivity of some mining units in the country are the existence of local opponents or a system that has led to the inability of the investor to operate.

Exploration barriers must be removed in the regions in order to make good use of the country's mineral capacity, the official further emphasized.

As announced by the director of Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry’s program for reviving and developing small mines, 392 idle mines have been revived across the country during the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21).

Reza Azimi said that the total number of revived mines has reached 791 since the launch of the program in late March 2019 until December 21, 2021.

From the beginning of this year to the end of the Iranian calendar month of Azar (December 21), clinical operations were conducted on 415 mines in collaboration with provincial working groups, and necessary measures were taken which include the removal of administrative barriers, providing investment, and resolving local conflicts, Azimi stated.

According to the official, reviving the mentioned mines have created potential jobs for 3,104 people and the production capacity of the mines has also increased by 18,000 tons.

“During the first 9 months of this year, more than 7,100 mineral areas have been monitored and assessed in 21 provinces,” the official stressed.

Concluding 37 memorandums of understanding (MOU) for investment, and scientific-research cooperation with knowledge-based companies, as well as the introduction of 124 projects to Mining Investment Insurance Corporation for receiving facilities, and the support and coaching of knowledge-based companies and startups have also been among the measures taken under the framework of the mentioned program, according to Azimi.

The official noted that the reviving of the mentioned 791 mines has increased the country’s total annual mineral production capacity by 29 million tons.

Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) is in charge of implementing the reviving program.

IMIDRO is conducting the program with the aim of providing feedstock for mineral industries, increasing production and completing the mining industry’s product chain, and developing and creating sustainable employment since the beginning of the Iranian calendar year 1398 (March 21, 2019).

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.

Over the past few years with new resilient economy strategies coming into play, the mining sector has become a major point of focus for the Iranian government and various organizations and bodies active in this sector have been tasked to implement new programs for boosting this sector.

As a major state-owned holding company active in the mining sector in the country, IMIDRO has been playing a significant part in the mentioned planning.

The organization has been implementing several new programs in all the main fields of the mining industry including exploration, machinery development, extraction and also reviving the country’s idle mines.

MA/MA