TEHRAN- Among 1,020 idle mines, which have been planned to be revived in the current Iranian calendar year (ends on March 20, 2021), 24 mines are located in the southwestern Kohgiluyeh-Boyerahmad province, according to an official with Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry.

Reza Azimi, the director of the plan for reviving and developing small mines, also said that a mineral processing unit has been planned to be constructed in the province in this year.

Following the implementation of a program for reviving idle small mines across Iran, the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry has revived 42 such mines in the first five months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-August 21).

Based on the data released by Iran Minerals Production and Supply Company (IMPASCO), during the mentioned period, 510 mines across the country have been identified and prioritized under the framework of the small-scale mining reviving activation and development program.

Holding more than 10 joint technical committee meetings with investors, as well as holding meetings to activate the country's copper mines with the help of the National Iranian Copper Industries Company (NICICO) were reported as other measures taken in this program during the past five months.

In early August, IMPASCO announced that the company has it on the agenda to revive and develop 1,020 mines, and construct 25 mineral processing units in the current Iranian calendar year.

According to the IMPASCO Head Vajihollah Jafari, the company has signed 32 memorandums of understanding for the development of the mining sector’s various fields.

“These memorandums include 16 investment memoranda, eight research and training memorandums, six financing memorandums, and two memorandums related to startup development,” he explained.

Back in April, the head of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA)'s Mining Committee had announced that more than 146 idle small mines were revived by the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry in the past Iranian calendar year.

According to Bahram Shakouri, in addition to reviving and developing small-scale mines, 2,130 small mineral zones were also identified and 364 projects were defined for them.

Earlier in January, Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Head Khodadad Gharibpour had mentioned the plan for reviving idle mines as one of the most significant plans of “Resistance Economy”, saying that his organization was strongly determined to pursue it.

Holding 68 types of different minerals, Iran stands at 10th place in the world in terms of the diversity of its mineral reserves.

The country has over 60 billion tons of untapped mineral deposits, of which 40 billion tons are proven reserves, placing Iran at the 15th place globally.

MA/MA