TEHRAN – Marred by mismanagement for 19 years, Mehdiabad’s zinc and lead mine is finally going to have a contractor this year. It could turn Iran into a major producer of zinc in the world, ISNA reported on Wednesday.

Located in Iran’s central province of Yazd, the mine enjoys five percent purity with 250 million tons of reserve as the latest exploration operation finds. Nevertheless, the related industries in Bafq region of Iran are no longer operating due to absence of raw material and production from Mehdiabad.

Japanese started working on the mine before the revolution and it was a no-show when they were invited to resume operation 19 years ago. Constant change at management level kept the work at bay, to the point that the former governor general Kalantari two years ago called it ‘a signboard of state incompetence’.

An Aussie company has finished the exploration work now and as a shareholder may keep 300,000 tons of zinc, lead and silver produced by the forthcoming factory. With initial life of 20 years, Mehdiabad could operate up to 40 years according to recent geological studies.

The annual balance sheet registers some 18,000 tons of lead and zinc in favor of imports given that domestic production stands at no more than 22,000. The demand is growing, so is the import.

Investment in this sector seems inevitable.