Pilot cadastre projects have been implemented in five provinces across the country with the aim of cutting down on bureaucracy and promoting electronic issuance of exploration and extraction licenses, according to a top official at the ministry of industry, mine, and trade, Asadollah Keshavarz.
“The mining cadastre system has become operational in five provinces in line with the ministry of industry, mine, and trade’s plan to create a national database on the locations of various mines in the country,” said the official.
Following the implementation of the system in East Azarbaijan province, four more provinces including Tehran, Qom, Alborz, and Esfahan launched the pilot system on Saturday. The pilot system will be launched nationwide after the mineral regions in the five provinces have been documented and regulated by the Council of Mines.
Officials in the ministry of industry, mine and trade as well as the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) have been trying to develop the mining sector in a bid to reach the objectives outlined in the country’s 2025 Vision Plan, based on which the country is expected to annually produce 55 million metric tons of crude steel, 0.8 million ton of copper, 1.5 million tons of aluminum, 0.3 million ton of zinc, 5 tons of gold, and 200 million tons of other minerals by the year 2025.
Since last year, the IMIDRO along with the Geological Survey of Iran (GSI) started exploring for new mines in 200,000 square kilometers of the country’s soil in Sangan region, situated in the northeastern Khorasan Razavi province.
At least 15 probable reserves have been detected so far as a result of vast aerial surveys and land exploration operations carried out in Sangan region, according to GSI deputy head, Behrouz Borna.
According to the official, the aerial geophysical operations conducted in Sangan region have so far led to the identification of 40 locations with high probability of mineral reserves and the areas have been excavated as deep as 450 meters. Sangan has 1.2 billion tons of iron ore reserves, of which 850 million tons are proven reserves. Other minerals such as copper, gold, lead, and zinc have also been detected in the region.
So far, only 7% of the country has been scientifically explored, having led to the discovery of 57 billion tons of mineral reserves, 37 billion tons of which are proven reserves. Mining experts believe for the mining industry to play a significant role in the national economy and make significant contributions to the gross domestic product (GDP), the excavation technology in the country needs to be developed.
