IMIDRO Repays $440m in Gov’t Debt

The Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has repaid 110 trillion rials ($440 million) in debt to the government.
"The payment was made in the last fiscal year (ended March 20) for debt created in the year before [March 2019-20],"  IMIDRO managing director Vajiholla Jafari told IRNA. 
Debts include dividend of government shares in mineral companies, unpaid taxes and mining royalties, he said. 
The amount was up 116% compared to debt reimbursement a year earlier when IMIDRO paid 50 trillion rials ($200 million) accumulated from 2010 to 2019. 
A major state-owned holding company active in the mining sector, IMIDRO has eight companies and 55 subsidiaries involved in the steel, aluminum, copper, cement and mineral sectors. 
Without providing details Jafari pointed to the bulk of government debt to IMIDIRO following the divestment of mineral companies. As per law, 70% of the proceeds from privatizing state-owned enterprises must go to the parent organization.
Iran is home to 68 types of minerals with over 37 billion tons of proven and 57 billion tons of potential reserves, including large deposits of coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromium, uranium and gold.