TEHRAN, Iran, Dec.14
Trend:
Iran is issuing permits for mining exploration in West Azerbaijan Province, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade in West Azerbaijan province told Trend in an interview.
A total of 218 permits were issued in the first eight months of the current Iranian year (started March 21, 2021), Parisa Abedpour noted.
All in all, 109 permits were issued for the exploration of decorative stones mines, while 62 permits were issued for exploring other mineral mines such as metals and coal, she explained.
About 206 inactive mines have been identified in West Azerbaijan Province that would be assigned to new owners based on law, she indicated.
There are 200 active mines in the province and based on the new regulation, the ownership of inactive mines will be assigned to new people.
The priority of mines in the province and their activities will be reviewed.
The annual extraction from 489 active mines in West Azerbaijan Province was 17.680 million tons that were exported to domestic and foreign processing centers.
The investment in West Azerbaijan Province's mines was 720.1 billion rials(about$17 million). There are currently 847 processing mineral units for sand, metal and non-metal, and gold.