A total of 331 mineral production permits were issued during the first seven months of the current Iranian year (March 21-Oct. 22), registering a 21% fall compared with the similar period of last year, the latest report released by the Ministry of Industries, Mining and Trade shows.
These permits are expected to create 2,564 jobs, which indicate a 24% decline year-on-year.
The nominal mineral extraction capacity of the projects stands at 11.95 million tons, which shows a 55.6% decrease compared with the corresponding period of last year.
Khorasan Razavi Province with 30, South Khorasan Province with 24 and Isfahan Province with 21 had the largest share of the permits issued during the period.
The permits issued over the seven months will create the highest number of jobs in South Khorasan Province (322), Kerman Province (217), Isfahan Province (207) and Sistan-Baluchestan Province (207).
The provinces of Khuzestan, Hormozgan and East Azarbaijan with 1.99 million tons, 966,600 tons and 768,900 tons respectively had the highest amount of nominal extraction capacities.
According to the report, 597 exploration permits were issued over the seven-month period to register a 7% increase YOY.
Exploration costs stood at more than 325 billion rials (over $3.06 million), registering a 1.4% decrease YOY.
