Closing 30% of second grade mines
Member of the Mining and Mining Industries Commission of Arak Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines: The price of spare parts for machines has increased by more than 300 percent, and even if it is possible to supply parts, the desired part will reach the customer one month after order It will shut down the mine.
According to the International Iranian Stone Fair, it has been emphasized for years that mining can be a good alternative to Iran's single-product economy, but it is still there and despite these emphases, mining has not found its place in Iran's economy.
There are about 600,000 square kilometers of mineral exploration in the country, of which only half have been explored so far, and with new discoveries, Iran's mineral reserves could double, but the existing explored capacity faces many challenges that are not complete.
Sanctions have put a lot of pressure on the mining sector in recent years, as most of the equipment and machinery used in the mine is imported, and the bottlenecks have challenged mining activity.
Eighty percent of the machines are imported and smuggled
A member of the Mining and Mining Industries Commission of the Arak Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Mines said about the situation of mines in the current situation: Like the Japanese Komatsu in Iran, it has led to the smuggling of stock and used machinery from neighboring countries, which is a problem in itself, and Corona has added an extra burden to the collection these days.
Behnam Nikfar pointed out that Corona has caused the transportation of machinery to the country to stop even in the form of smuggling, adding: "In addition to the problems in importing machinery, the supply of supplies and spare parts has also been challenged." The price of spare parts for machinery has increased by more than 300 percent, and even if it is possible to supply parts, the desired part will reach the customer one month after ordering, which will cause the mine to shut down.
More than 30 percent of second-class mines were closed
He said that in these conditions, second-rate mines suffer the most damage, adding that about ninety-five percent of the country's mines are second-class mines whose rocks are not branded and are damaged by any fluctuations in economic conditions and the stone and mining market. About 30 to 40 percent of the country's second-tier mines are currently closed.
The representative of Arak Chamber of Commerce in the Iranian Chamber of Commerce stated: The situation of second-class mines in Markazi province is better than other parts of the country, because travertine is generally extracted, which has more customers, and in this respect the situation is better, but this is the case. The province is also facing the collapse and closure of mines, so that in recent months, about 30 percent of the province's mines have been closed due to problems such as sanctions. In the last three months, in addition to 30 percent, 15 percent of other mines have been shut down and production capacity declined, and if this situation continues, we will definitely see more mines shut down in the province and the country.
Three-fold increase in the price of mineral stock machines
Referring to the unhealthy situation of currency prices in the country, he added: "Currency prices have also tripled the price of mining machinery, despite the stock, so that not only loaders, shovels and bulldozers are not imported at the moment, but also the price of a single loader." One billion tomans has reached four billion tomans.
Asked why domestic production capacity, such as Hepco, is not used to produce mineral machinery, Nikfar said: "Domestic industries such as Hepco are not able to build mining machinery, and what has been built, such as bulldozers, is the assembly of imported parts."
Decorative Industry Stone Wheel in Sanctions Hole
He said that the decorative stone industry is in ideal condition in terms of technology and Iran can consider itself as one of the countries with famous and powerful countries in this industry, adding: "Currently, forty-five stone processing factories are operating in Mahallat city. They have provided a day and can compete with other countries in conditions other than sanctions.
The member of the Mining and Mining Industries Commission of Arak Chamber of Commerce emphasized: the stone industry of Mahallat city has started from zero in the last twenty years and today it can receive the score of 50 and achieve the high rankings of the world mining industry. In fact, we are about two to three years away from modern technology in this area, and we can hope for the future of this industry.
According to the report, June 1-7 is the week of mining, but even during the week called mining, the mines have been deprived of attention. The industry has been dormant for about three months, and mines must be shut down if equipment and machinery fail.
Sanctions for Iran, which are embroiled in a variety of hostilities, are nothing new. In fact, over the years, conflicts with various sanctions should have been used, and existing needs met by the rich industrial potential. Unfortunately, newer problems have arisen every day due to the lack of proper management of domestic capacities, along with external pressures, and the mining industry, as one of the most expensive and, of course, the most lucrative industries, has suffered and failed to work. To play its role in the country's non-oil economy well.
* ISNA
