Deputy minister of industry, mine and trade and head of the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), Mehdi Karbasian, on Monday traveled to Kazakhstan for a two-day visit to discuss mining contracts with Kazakh companies.
Kazakh companies have failed to meet their commitments in Sari Gunay gold mine in the western Kurdistan Province, missing the September 2013 deadline to start extraction from the mine. The deadline was further extended until October 2014 but the companies once again missed the deadline, Eghtesadnews reported.
Mining experts believe that if the mineral exploration, extraction, and processing in Sari Gunaay were completed as per schedule, the mine would be producing more gold than Zarshooran Gold Mine in the northwestern province of West Azerbaijan, current production of which stands at about 3 metric tons per year.
Industry officials have, during the past 18 months, accelerated development of mining projects. In a recent such move, development plans were initiated for Zarshooran Gold Mine to increase the mine’s output to at least 7 tons in the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21) from the current 3 tons.
