IMIDRO: 30 mining investment packages to be awarded to private sector
A senior official from the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) said 270 exploration licenses within 30 investment packages valued at 18,000 billion tomans ($200 Million) will be awarded to the private sector by the end of the year March 20, 2026)."
In an interview, the chairman of the Board of Directors of the IMIDRO, Mohammad Aqajanloo announced the preparation of guidelines for private sector activity in the exploration process and declared, "Based on Article 48 of the Seventh Development Plan Law, the Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade must facilitate the financial and technical participation of the private sector in promising areas holding exploration licenses," IRNA reported.
"Currently, 270 exploration licenses have been prepared in various packages of 10 to 15 licenses each, which will be made available to interested private entities," he added.
Referring to details of the private sector mining investment package, Aqajanloo stated, "This package introduces a new method wherein the government share is set at 40% and the private sector share at 60%, reducing the risk of loss for auction winners in the high-cost environment of mineral exploration."
He emphasized, "Under this investment package, explorations previously conducted by state entities will now be carried out by the private sector, with the government assuming a regulatory and supervisory role under the framework of the Seventh Development Plan."
The chairman of IMIDRO's Board of Directors stressed, "According to this package, the private sector becomes the mine owner; such that execution is completely separated from the government sector and entrusted to the agile private sector. In other words, this approach moves forward while specialized supervisory government entities conduct oversight."
Noting that the Birjand and Divandareh mineral blocks are currently under research studies for transfer, Aqajanloo stated, "These blocks will be finalized by year-end, and their licenses will be issued next year. Consequently, we can immediately include these blocks in the 2026 investment package portfolio."
He underscored: "IMIDRO, alongside other public and private sector entities and in line with its developmental policies, consistently supports national production, technological advancement, infrastructure development, and human resource empowerment."