According to the International Exhibition of Iranian Stone, last year private sector miners faced many internal and external problems. Weaknesses in transparency of laws, growth in tolls and inability to export, sanctions, devaluation of rials, inflation, rising prices for mining equipment and weakness in the purchase of mining machinery from abroad were among the most important of these problems.

Since ninety-eight percent of the country's mines are owned by the private sector, paying attention to solving problems in this area can be a way for economic growth in the country. In fact, there are about 5,000 active mines in the country, only two percent of which are in the hands of the public sector, and this doubles the importance of paying attention to the private sector.

Freedom of action for the private sector

Bahram Farzad, a mining activist, said: "I hope that a number of members of the Islamic Consultative Assembly will visit several underground mines, especially coal mining workshops, to understand the difficulty of working in the mining sector."

He emphasized: "Most of the time, the officials visit the open pit mines, and the difficulty of working with this type of mine is not comparable to the underground mines." Farzad said that the deputies should be realistic: "The recommendation of the mining activists is that the deputies should not consider large and state mines as a criterion for judging the mining sector and should pay attention to and help small mines, especially underground mines."

The mining activist continued: "Our expectation from the members of the 11th parliament in the first year of their work is to do their best to develop the mining sector by giving loans and facilities to equip mines and purchase machinery and release the import of mining equipment."

Farzad, in response to a question about the biggest concerns of mining activists last year and what the 10th parliament has been able to do, said: "Last year, the shortage of mining equipment, parts and their high cost have detrimental effects on mining production." And what an underground it was. This problem becomes more complex over time and can have more detrimental effects in the long run.

He continued: "I am not aware of the measures taken by the parliament for mining activists last year. Even if it is a significant step, the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade's Deputy Minister of Mines has formally drafted and announced those laws.

Asked what he expects from lawmakers this year, he said: "Our first expectation is to be honest, to have a close relationship with people and businesses, and to be able to prevent rent-seeking and corruption." They must adhere to what they say to the people. Because we have an Islamic government and the parliament is in charge of affairs, we should try to ensure that the deputies' attitudes and decisions are based on Islamic principles.

Commenting on the legal weakness in the mining sector, the miner said: "As far as I can remember, the mining rules and regulations have not been comprehensive since the establishment of the Ministry of Mines and Metals, and they have changed regularly, which adds to the problems of mining." he does.

He added: "We are a long way from reaching the set of complete and up-to-date laws that meet the real needs of the country's miners."

In the end, Farzad suggested for the development of the mining sector: "We must restore the freedom of action to the private sector by amending the rules of handcuffing." In the meantime, government assistance to underground mines, especially coal mines, is considered urgent due to the urgent need of coal-fired iron smelting plants. Government assistance to mining activists to supply the required machinery and mineral equipment by passing regulations to facilitate miners' access to these machinery is another matter.

The role of parliament in territorial planning

Sayed Nematullah Haghighi, an exploration expert at a mining company, said: "Unfortunately, we have many problems with mining laws and regulations in different provinces. Unfortunately, the laws that have been passed in various areas of the environment and natural resources have been approved by the parliament. It is inconsistent.

The former head of the Kermanshah Province Industry, Mining and Trade Organization, referring to the need to pay attention to land management, said: We must determine what is the position of land management plan that has been implemented in developed countries in the forties? Given that, unfortunately, land management in Iran has not yet been operationalized as it should be, we must take this as a plan that considers the territorial viability for various activities.

He stressed that the parliament can create this legal capacity and emphasize that the capacities of each region should be determined based on the land management plan.

Haghighi said that we have a common view in the field of legislation on the field of national resources in different regions, adding that the laws related to the conservation of natural resources and forests are as important as in South Khorasan province, in the northern regions of the country covered with forests. Is also ruling; However, this should not be the case, and this shows that we do not have the right management thinking about national resources and areas.

A former member of the country's Mining Engineering and Engineering Council emphasized: Should we have the same view in the northeastern region of the country, where deserts and rainfall are mainly less than 100 million per year ?! Unfortunately, these issues have always led to very closed-minded laws and regulations in mining-related areas. Although the environment of our environment follows developed countries, we are still a developing country that acts in a paradoxical way.

Haghighi said: "We are not saying not to take into account sustainable development and ignore the environment, but we believe that the only way to achieve a resilient economy and get out of the mono-product economy is to look at the mines and the environment."

In the end, he clarified the need to amend the laws: "The rules and regulations should be set in such a way that a person who has a livestock grazing license goes to another area, because we cannot take the Zarshuran mine from Azerbaijan from north to south, but the livestock grazing license can be easily obtained." He moved to other areas.