For the upcoming Iranian calendar year (starting March 21, 2015), the government will benefit from royalty payments as high as 30% in the iron ore mines, reported ILNA on Sunday.
Based on the law passed by parliament in February, all mining companies whose exploitation licenses have been issued by the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization are required to deposit 30% of their sales to the treasury.
Those companies extracting raw iron ore or producing iron ore concentrate are subject to the law.
In proportion to the deposited amounts, up to 6 trillion rials ($222.8 million based on the official exchange rate) could be earned by the ministry of industry, mine, and trade.
The ministry will then give 90% of the collected sum to the IMIDRO, which is the country’s major state-owned holding company active in the mining sector. The remaining 10% would be offered to the Geological Survey of Iran.
The latter is responsible for carrying out geological and mineral investigations throughout the country.
The geological survey has been tasked by the new administration to finish the aerial survey nationwide within the next three years. So far, only a tiny 8% of the country has been aerially surveyed.
The organization says the country possesses the knowledge as well as the advanced aerial geophysical systems and the educated experts, but only lacks funding to finish the surveying and mapping project.
Meager finances have been allocated by the governments for this project in the past 10 years, and only $25 million has so far been spent on aerial surveys, while as much as $84 billion has been spent across the world during the past decade for such explorations, a senior official from the Iran Mine House told the Financial Tribune Sunday.
