TEHRAN- As announced by a provincial official, 15 idle mines are planned to be revived in Iran’s central Qom province by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2022).

Mahmoud Sijani, the head of the province’s Industry, Mining, and Trade Department, said, “When reviving the idle mines, the issues of processing and value-added are of high significance, and given the existence of 45 idle mines in the province, it is hoped that we can revive these mines through a long-term planning.”

In terms of paying facilities to the mines, the official stated that there is no limit in this due, and 11 trillion rials (about $262 million) of facilities will be paid in the current year.

The head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has announced that 253 idle small-scale mines were revived throughout the country in the previous Iranian calendar year.

According to Vajihollah Jafari, the plan for reviving idle mines in the previous year was realized by 126 percent.

Saying that the mentioned mines have been reactivated as part of a comprehensive program for reviving idle small mines across the country, Jafari also announced that under the framework of the mentioned program 200 mines are planned to be put back into operation in the current year.

The official noted that the successful implementation of the said program in the previous year was achieved despite the problems created by the outbreak of coronavirus.

Emphasizing that the above goals have been achieved as a result of productive cooperation among the Industry, Mining, and Trade Ministry, provincial industry organizations, Iran Mines houses, and private sector companies, Jafari noted that since the beginning of the program in March 2019 up to the end of the previous year, 303 mines have been revived.

As reported, under the framework of the mentioned program, 672 idle mines were identified and prioritized in the previous year, and diagnostic procedures were performed on 194 mines to determine the reasons for the halt in their production.

The program, which has been at the forefront of IMIDRO's missions over the past two years, is being pursued in several provinces.

Khodadad Gharibpour, IMIDRO’s former head had mentioned this plan as one of the most significant plans of “Resistance Economy”, saying that IMIDRO is strongly determined to carry out it.

Reviving the small mines not only is a major step for supporting and boosting domestic production, it also plays a significant role in job creation throughout the country, Gharibpour said back in June 2020.

Following this program, so far various small-scale mines including chromite, manganese, hematite, and 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.

MA/MA