Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization will require close to $20 billion worth of investments for mineral exploration and exploitation, manufacturing of mining equipment and mines’ renovation projects by 2025.
Mehdi Karbasian, deputy minister of industries, mining and trade, made the statement during the International Mining and Resources Conference in Melbourne, Australia last week.
Emphasizing Iran’s huge mineral potential, the official said certain incentives have been considered for attracting foreign and domestic private firms to invest in the mineral sector.
“Incentives such as signing an agreement on sharing mineral resources after the completion of exploration project and granting mineral exploration liability insurance by the government are some of the stimulants offered to investors interested in the exploration projects,” Donya-e-Eqtesad quoted Karbasian as saying.
“For the firms investing in the processing of minerals and manufacturing of mining equipment, incentives such as low energy costs, tax exemptions and government loans will also be offered.”
According to Karbasian, who is also the head of IMIDRO, Iran possesses 37 billion tons of mineral reserves worth more than $700 billion, which include 2.7 billion tons of iron ore (1% of global reserves), 2.6 billion tons of copper (4% of global reserves), 11 million tons of zinc (4% of global reserves), 250 tons of gold (0.5% of global reserves) and 10 million tons of barite (5% of global reserves).
He pointed to the mining sector’s investment potential and said there are currently 29 mining development projects are underway across the country, such as the establishment of a steel factory with a production capacity of 5 million tons of steel per year in Chabahar FTZ located in southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province and the exploitation of one of the largest titanium mines in the world with 150 million tons of reserves.
IMIDRO is firm on absorbing investments to the mining sector to increase production and, based on the 20-Year National Vision Plan (2005-25), annual production capacity of steel, aluminum and copper cathode is to reach 55 million, 1.5 million and 800,000 tons respectively from the current 24 million, 460,000 and 255,000 tons.
IMARC 2015 was attended by global mining giants such as Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals Group and MMG, as well as domestic players such as Chadormalu and Golgohar mining and industrial companies.
