TEHRAN - Production of coal concentrate by major subsidiaries of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) rose 65 percent in the first 10 months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2022-January 20, 2023), as compared to the same period of time in the past year.

As IRIB reported, two major IMIDRO subsidiary companies produced 666,154 tons of coal concentrate in the said 10 months, 266,266 tons more than the 399,888 tons produced in the same period last year.

The mentioned companies managed to extract about 1.917 million tons of coal ore in 10 months of this year, registering an 84 percent increase compared to the figure for the same period last year (1.44 million tons).

Due to the special conditions of coal mines in Iran, these mines are subject to tax exemption and any miners who need mining machinery can use the facilities and tax exemption in this sector to import their necessary machinery.

The country's average annual coal concentrate production is about 1.5 million tons, while the country's current demand has exceeded two million tons.

Currently, Iran’s coal sector provides employment for 17,000 people, however, the capacity of the country’s coal mines is much more than this figure, and the development of the mining sector and modernization projects can play an effective role in increasing employment in this sector.

Unofficial data indicate that there are 185 small and large coal mines in the country, of which more than 59 percent are currently active, while 10 mines are being equipped and prepared, and the rest are idle.

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