TEHRAN – Head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) Vajihollah Jafari has announced that 29 projects in mines and mining industries are ready for inauguration across the country.

Jafari noted that 13 of the mentioned projects are related to the steel chain, six are related to the copper chain, and 10 are implemented by Iran Minerals Production and Supply Company (IMPASCO) in other fields like producing minerals and machinery.

According to the official, more than $1.9 billion worth of projects in the steel, copper, lead, and zinc, gold, ferrochrome, nepheline syenite, phosphate, and mining infrastructure sectors will be operational by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (ends in March 2022).

He further said that six development projects will be inaugurated this year in the country’s copper industry which includes the development of Sarcheshmeh Copper Mine, and several projects in copper concentrate units.

Back in February, Jafari had announced that his organization will inaugurate 23 development projects in mines and mining industries soon.

Jafari said these projects worth over $355 million would create direct jobs for 1,053 persons, and indirect jobs for 2,655 persons.

In line with Iran’s major plans for distancing the country’s economy from oil and moving toward a resilient, oil-free economy, the mining sector has become one of the major areas of focus in recent years, since the country is one of the world’s top 10 mineral-rich countries where 68 types of minerals have been identified so far, including the world’s largest deposits of copper, zinc, and iron.

Expansion and exploitation of these huge sources of income have become a top priority for the government in recent years, and various programs have been defined for the improvement of this industry.

Reviving idle small mines, increasing the tariffs on the exports of some raw minerals, defining new exploration projects, signing memorandums of understanding with domestic and foreign manufacturers for the renovation of the country’s mining equipment and machinery, and allocation of funds for the completion of semi-finished projects in this sector can be mentioned as some of the programs introduced by the government for the development of the country’s mining sector.

EF/MA