TEHRAN – Iran’s Deputy Industry, Mining and Trade Minister Vajihollah Jafari has said implementing a comprehensive plan for developing the country’s mines is a priority of the ministry to achieve the goals set for the mining sector in the seventh National Development Plan (2022-2027).

“The strategic plan has been formulated in 17 paragraphs and its priorities have been specified, but we are facing time and resource limitations,” Jafari told IRIB.

The Deputy Minister for Mines and Materials Processing emphasized the existence of some challenges in the country’s mining sector and said: “Some of these challenges can be solved in the short term and some in the long term with specific policies.”

“The processes for resolving current issues should be changed in such a way that the implementation of what is expected in the mining industry, such as the supply of currency and machinery, will be facilitated,” he said.

Back in August, Head of Iran Mine House (IMH) Mohammadreza Bahraman said the realization of the 13 percent growth in the country’s mining sector set in the country’s seventh National Development Plan requires $50 billion of investment.

Bahraman, who is also the deputy head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), emphasized that the infrastructure of the mining sector should be strengthened, saying: “The 7th Development Plan has predicted a 13 percent growth for the mining sector, while in order to achieve this, 50 billion dollars should be invested in this sector.”

“One of the most important factors in mining development is to pay special attention to education because all the workers in this sector must be familiar with the rules and regulations,” he said.

The official also underlined the need for supporting investors in the mining industry, adding: “Supporting investment in the mining sector can create new opportunities for the development of the production sector, employment, foreign exchange, and business prosperity.”

Stating that special laws have been formulated for the development of the mining sector, he said: “Our country has huge capacities in the field of mining, and these capacities should be used optimally.”

Iran is one of the top 10 mineral-rich countries in the world. Having 15,000 mining areas, Iran has the sixth largest zinc, seventh largest copper, ninth largest iron ore reserves, and fifth largest gypsum and barite reserves globally. It also has three of the world’s total lead and zinc reserves and huge coal reserves. Other mineral products such as chromate and manganese are also found in different regions of Iran.

The total proven reserves of Iran's mines are estimated at about 60 billion tons, which is expected to reach more than 100 billion tons with the implementation of the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry’s exploration programs over 500,000 square kilometers of new mineral zones.

Despite the country’s huge potential in this area, due to some issues like the lack of necessary machinery and equipment and the lack of access to financial resources and foreign investment because of the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian mining sector has been struggling to operate at its maximum capacity over the past few years.

So, the government programs for promoting this industry are mainly focused on relying on domestic sources to help the mining sector overcome its current problems and hit its ideal targets.

EF/MA