President Hassan Rouhani’s government has prepared the ground for foreign investors to enter the mine sector by providing incentives and creating the necessary infrastructures, said Mohammad Fatemian, an official with the ministry of industry, mines, and trade.
He mentioned that Tehran is hosting the third conference on investment opportunities in mining and mineral industry, which is scheduled for October 14 to 16, reported IRNA.
So far, 200 companies from Russia, China, Germany, France, Britain, Turkey, India, Kazakhstan, Spain, South Korea and Iraq along with domestic companies active in mining and mineral industry are supposed to attend the conference.
The new incentives adopted to attract foreign investors include granting free land and giving loans to foreign companies that work with domestic firms in joint projects.
There are over 2,000 inactive mines across the country, which could turn productive if investors are encouraged to step in.
According to the Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of Iran, the country holds at least 43 billion tons of proven mineral reserves, with some 5,422 active mines.
Iran holds 3% of the world’s proven mineral reserves, with its annual mineral extraction reaching 372 million tons.
As one of the top-ranking countries in mineral reserves and production, Iran has, through the years, created 23,000 different mineral industries.
The country is also one of the most important mineral producers in the world, and has been ranked among 15 major mineral-rich countries worldwide. It holds some 68 types of minerals, and more than 57 billion tons of potential reserves. With roughly 1% of the world’s population, the country holds more than 7% of the world’s total mineral reserves.
The most important reserves in Iran include coal, sand and gravel, chemical minerals, and metallic minerals such as zinc (world’s largest), copper (world’s ninth largest reserves in 2011), iron (world’s 12th largest in 2013 according to the US Geological Survey), uranium (world’s tenth largest) and lead (world’s eleventh largest).
