IMIDRO announced this on Tuesday, concurrent with the National Day of Industry and Mine, IRNA reported.

The organization added that the implementation of the projects is expected to create at least 4,000 indirect jobs.

It said this target has been set within the framework of the country’s macro policies.

This comes as Iran’s reduced dependence on oil revenues has heightened expectations that the sector should play a more significant role in the domestic economy. To this end, IMIDRO has adopted new policies to minimize the outflow of foreign currency resources and boost domestic production.

The organization also seeks to increase the mining sector’s share in the country’s GDP and exports, of which booting employment is an important prerequisite.

Over 90 percent of the country’s mines are located within 20 kilometers of rural areas. IMIDRO plans to accelerate balanced development in Iran’s deprived areas in cooperation with private companies through designing plans to this end.

Generating revenues through boosting non-oil exports is among the other main approaches of the Iranian Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade and IMIDRO. To achieve this, the mining sector’s share of the country’s overseas sales of non-oil products has been increased from 20 percent to 33 percent.

Exports from the domestic mining sector surpassed $9.2 billion in the year to March 2020, accounting for up to 22 percent of the country’s annual non-oil exports.

In the previous Iranian calendar year, IMIDRO completed mining projects valued at $3.2 billion despite the unprecedented US sanctions on the country, imposed unilaterally following Washington’s May 2018 withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, signed between Tehran and the P5+1 in July 2015.

IMIDRO is also expected to prepare the ground for the inauguration of projects worth $1 billion by the private sector by March 2021.

Exploration activities

Reports indicate that by September 2018, IMIDRO had carried out exploration activities in the country in an area of 250,000 square kilometers. However, since that date, until March 2020, a total of 4,000 square kilometers were added to the area under exploration by the organization.

In December 2018, IMIDRO drew up a plan to revive small mines in the country shut down or operating at half capacity due to domestic and international issues, and began its implementation in the previous year.

Small mines are important in view of their large number (98 percent of the country’s mines) as well as the potential to create employment (85 percent of the total capacity of the country’s mines), and stimulate domestic production. These mines can play a very significant role in generating sustainable employment in the mining sector and accelerating balanced development across the country.

In the year to March 2020, 146 small mines were revived in the country’s less developed areas.

In the current year, plans are underway to revive 200 mines and construct 25 processing units in the country.