Iran plans to attract $30 billion of investment in mineral sector
File photo shows Sungun open pit copper mine in Iran's East Azarbaijan Province.
Presstv.com
Iran’s
deputy minister of industry, mine and trade says the country has plans
to attract USD 30 billion of investment in its mines following the
removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran over its civilian nuclear
program.
. In an interview with Bloomberg, which was
published on Tuesday, Mehdi Karbasian noted that Iran boasts the world’s
biggest natural gas reserves and is planning various projects to
develop its diverse mineral resources and industries ranging from steel
to aluminum production, as well as gold and copper prospecting. . “Sanctions
imposed on Iran … certainly slowed development in steel [industry] and
other fields,” Karbasian, who is also head of the Iranian Mines and
Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO),
said, adding, “Investment in Iran when sanctions are lifted will be
win-win situation.” . On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group of
countries – the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia plus
Germany – finalized the text of an agreement, dubbed the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in the Austrian capital of Vienna. File photo shows the Choghart iron mine, near the central Iranian city of Bafq in Yazd Province.Under
the JCPOA, Iran has accepted limitations on its nuclear activities in
exchange for the removal of all economic and financial sanctions against
the Islamic Republic. . Elsewhere in his interview, Karbasian said
high-ranking delegations from Germany, France and the Netherlands have
visited Iran in the past few weeks, and the country is going to host a
two-day seminar on opportunities for investment in Iran's steel
industries on Kish Island in September. . “We have held extensive
negotiations with them with regard to investments in the steel and
mining industries” of Iran, Karbasian said, adding, “We have also had
negotiations with representatives of British and Austrian companies.” . According
to Karbasian, if necessary investments are made in Iran's steel
industry, the country’s steel production will increase from the current
figure of 18 million tonnes to 55 million tonnes by 2025. . “The
projected [steel production] capacity will help us to raise our steel
exports by around 15 million tonnes a year,” the Iranian deputy foreign
minister said. Iran’s Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mehdi Karbasian (file photo)According
to Karbasian, Iran exported a total of 2.5 million tonnes of steel
products to Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Thailand, Spain and
Britain last year. . He noted that Iran is currently in talks with
Japanese companies, whose names he did not reveal, to encourage them to
invest in the Makran steel plant, which will have the capacity to
produce 3 million tonnes of steel. The plant will be built in Iran’s
Chabahar Free Trade and Industrial Zone on the coast of the Sea of Oman,
Karbasian said, because Chabahar has rail links, which can be used for
transfer of iron ore to the free zone from other parts of Iran as well
as from Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. . According to a
report by the US Geological Survey, Iran has more than 3,000 active
mines, producing 9 percent of the world’s gypsum and 2 percent of
molybdenum and nitrogen.
