TEHRAN – Deputy Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Reza Mohtashami-Pour said there are 12,000 mines across the country of which 5,000 are currently not active, IRNA reported.

According to the official, the government has allocated 230 trillion rials (about $603.7 million) for the development of state-owned mines across the country in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20).

Mohtashami-Pour noted that new mineral zones have also been identified in various provinces which are expected to add to the country’s mineral reserves.

He said several knowledge-based companies are currently active in the mining sector working on various projects including exploratory drones and survey cameras.

The deputy minister said up to 80 percent of the equipment and machinery used in the processing of minerals are currently manufactured inside the country.

The Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry’s program for reviving small mines was launched in late March 2019.

The most important goal of this program is to activate the country's mines, which will result in increased production and employment, especially in deprived areas.

In May 2022, Head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Vajihollah Jafari said his organization, which is in charge of the mentioned program, has defined 30 investment packages for continuing the implementation of the program in the current Iranian calendar year.

Speaking in a meeting for reviewing the progress of the program in the previous year and planning for the current year, Jafari said after the complete monitoring of idle and semi-active mines throughout the country 850 mines have been identified this year and 30 investment packages have been defined to be offered in 19 provinces in this regard.

Jafari noted that the priority for the allocation of the mentioned packages is to implement infrastructure projects that would help revive several mines together.

As such infrastructure projects progress, it is necessary to measure their effectiveness in reviving the country’s idle mines, he added.

According to the official, some 453 idle mines were activated under the framework of the program for reviving small and medium-sized mines in the previous Iranian calendar year, which created 3,500 jobs.

Jafari further noted that since the beginning of the program in 2019, over 852 mines have been revived and 13,800 jobs have been created, which has led to a 33-million-ton increase in the country’s mineral production.

Back in December 2021, Reza Azimi, who directs IMIDRO’s program for reviving and developing small mines, had mentioned 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 as other measures taken under the framework of the mentioned program.

Following the implementation of the reviving program, so far various small-scale mines including chromite, manganese, hematite, 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.

EF/MA