Industry minister: Mining revenues must fuel local jobs, investment
Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mohammad Atabak said on Thursday that boosting the share of mining revenues in local development is a key priority, stressing that the proceeds should be directed toward job creation and investment in the same regions where resources are extracted.
Speaking at a meeting with a group of business leaders in South Khorasan Province, Atabak said under a decision by the Supreme Mining Council, and in order to accelerate exploitation and activate mining capacity, some authority over mining rights allocation will be delegated to provincial administrations to speed up decision-making.
He underscored that enforcing the mining act passed by Parliament and ensuring safety in coal mines are among the ministry’s top priorities.
The country is the 15th-largest mineral-rich country globally, and Iranian officials call mining the backbone of industrial development and say it should replace oil as the primary revenue generator.
According to the state-run Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO), the country exported $4.1 billion worth of mining and mineral industry products in the first four months of the Persian calendar year (began on March 21, 2025), up about 14% in volume but down 4% in value compared with the same period last year.
The IMIDRO has also announced that last year nearly 600 mines were revived, activated, or developed, which represents the highest figure in mining revitalization. Atabak also noted that about 25% of the country’s industrial machinery has been modernized.