Over 15,000 mining machinery and vehicles in Iran are more than 20 years old, according to the head of Iranian Mining Engineering Organization.
“The most significant weakness in the field of mineral production is the dilapidation of mining machinery,” Reza Bastami was also quoted as saying by IRNA.
He noted that the age of the machinery is one of the most important reasons behind the rise in the final prices of mineral and mining products.
According to the official, the import of 2,305 mining machines was allowed in the fiscal 2022-23, of which only 605 entered the country.
“Currently, we see that many mining machinery are stuck in customs terminals due to many reasons, one of which is that import conditions have changed,” he added.
Although Iran produces some of its mining machinery locally, the country lacks the technology to manufacture many such machines, which need to be imported.
According to the head of the House of Industries, Mining and Trade, the average age of Iran’s mining machinery is currently around 40 years.
“One reason [why the machinery have not been renewed] is that they are too expensive due to the high rates of foreign exchange in Iran [against the rial]. As a result, small mines cannot afford the required equipment,” Abdolvahhab Sahlabadi was also quoted as saying by Mehr News Agency.
The official added that the domestic market also has a shortage of mineral machinery spare parts.
Referring to import restrictions on mining machinery in Iran, Deputy Industries Minister Reza Mohtashamipour said imports are allowed only if the machinery is not produced domestically.
Mehrdad Akbarian, the deputy head of the Mines and Mineral Industries Commission of Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, said the import of mining machinery has been hindered by negotiations with two domestic producers.
He explained that producers are lobbying to suspend import until they can sell their products.
“Unfortunately, the government’s imposition of preconditions and complicated bureaucracy for the import of mining machinery means restrictions remain in the way of imports of mining machinery,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal of ICCIMA.
Noting that Iran currently needs about 25,000 new mining machines, the official said, “To solve this problem, in addition to domestic production, we need to import at least 5,000 machines per year.”
Akbarian said as domestic production is limited in terms of quantity, quality and type, the shortage of various types of mining machinery should be addressed as soon as possible via imports.
“We need to use specialized mining machinery to lower costs. These machines do not exist in sufficient numbers, nor do domestic manufacturers have plans to produce them. This is while specialized machinery could help overhaul our mines, lower mining costs and increase our competitiveness with other countries,” he said.
Akbarian concluded that restrictions on the import of mining machinery has caused heavy losses for miners.
Large Mines Operating at Half Capacity
Restrictions on the import of mining machinery has forced Iran’s large mines to operate at 50% of their full capacity, due to which the country’s small- and medium-sized mines are on the verge of closure, Hamid Reza Amirian, the deputy head of Iran Mine House, said earlier.
“This is a disaster for our mining industry. It has been a few years since this ban has come into effect. The decision was made on faulty grounds to begin with,” he was quoted as saying by the news portal of ICCIMA.
The official explained that after banning automobile imports a few years ago, the government somehow put mining vehicles in the same category. Mining companies cannot import 100-ton and 150-ton dump trucks and 200-ton and 300-ton loading machinery.
“Officials say the reason behind this ban is to offer support to domestic production of these machinery, whereas there is no domestic production of most mining machinery. These heavy machinery are produced by only six or seven companies worldwide. Under the current circumstances, we cannot become a producer,” he said.
According to Amirian, there are 5,000 abandoned mines and 3,000 gravel and sand mines that need machinery to resume operation, while local production cannot even meet 10% of their demand for machinery.
“Economic sanctions imposed on Iran don’t allow the import of new machinery. We can only purchase secondhand ones, which too is not allowed because we have ‘sanctioned’ ourselves,” he said.
Mineral Riches
Iran is home to 81 types of minerals, with reserves totaling 37-40 billion tons, according to Alireza Shahidi, the head of Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran.
“Construction materials, including gravel, rubble stones, sand and different types of stones, account for 62% of Iran’s mineral reserves, metal minerals constitute 10-15% of total reserves and the rest are non-metallic minerals,” he added.
According to the United States Geological Survey, Iran holds the world's largest zinc, ninth largest copper, 10th largest iron ore, fifth largest gypsum and barite, and 10th largest uranium reserves.
Overall, Iran is home to more than 7% of global mineral reserves.
“Iran’s standing rose to fifth place in terms of global ranking of copper reserves,” vice president for development and exploration of the National Iranian Copper Industries Company said recently, adding that until recently, the country had the seventh largest copper reserves in the world.
“With recent discoveries in Sungun and the addition of 1 billion tons of new reserves to the mine in East Azarbaijan Province, as well as the discovery of new reserves in other mines of the company, including Sarcheshmeh, Miduk and a new mine near Sarcheshmeh in Kerman Province, the volume of the company's copper reserves has increased from 18 billion tons to 19 billion tons,” Behrouz Rahmati was also quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.
Sungun Complex, located in East Azarbaijan Province, is Iran’s largest copper mine.
Sarcheshmeh Copper Complex is the world’s second largest open cast copper mine located in Kerman Province, which also contains substantial amounts of molybdenum, gold and other rare metals.
“According to the United States Geological Survey’s latest report, following these explorations, the ranking of our country has risen to fifth place after Chile, Australia, Peru and Russia,” Rahmati said.
