Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization recently signed a deal with two Iranian firms to develop the second phase of Zarshouran Gold Mine in northwestern Iran.
IMDIRO plans to set up a new processing plant at the mine in cooperation with Kahanroba and Foolad Technic International Engineering Company.
“When finalized, this project will increase Zarshouran’s gold output capacity to 5 tons,” Mehdi Karbasian, the head of IMIDRO, said.
According to Karbasian, who also doubles as deputy industries minister, the deal signed last Saturday is based on an engineering, procurement and construction contract.
Ravanbakhsh Amiri, managing director of Zarshouran Gold Mines and Mineral Industries development Company, said the two companies are set to implement the second phase in three years and invest 3 trillion rials ($71.4 million) in the project.
Amiri added that IMIDRO will also invest 2 trillion rials ($47.6 million) to develop the mine’s infrastructure.
Kahanroba was established in January 1990 as a private company working on the extraction and production of non-ferrous metals. It first started work at Angouran Lead and Zinc Mine in Zanjan Province, the company’s website reported.
Foolad Technic International Engineering Company, an industry think tank that primarily operates in the steel industry and is usually consulted by the government in their capacity expansion plans.
Zarshouran, located 35 kilometers from Takab in West Azarbaijan Province, is the richest gold deposit of Iran and the Middle East. The mine uses chemical reactions developed by an Iranian company for extracting gold.
According to Karbasian, the mine produced 850 kilograms of gold in the last fiscal year (March 2017-18).
“Zarshouran’s first phase was implemented in the fiscal 2014-15. However, sanctions limited Iran’s capability in importing the required equipment and machinery. The current deal also entails fixing the shortcomings of the first phase and boosting the mine’s output to 1.2 tons next year,” he said.
