According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, mineral reserves are an important part of the national capital of any country and the optimal use of these reserves has a significant impact on the macroeconomy of countries and consequently on their industrial growth rate. In recent decades, industrialized countries with rich mineral resources have made huge investments in this sector. Today, with the multiplicity and diversity of investment potentials and the flow of capital, the discussion of innovation and technological development in the mining sector and mining industries is of great importance.

Due to the competitiveness of the business environment in recent decades, large companies operating in the mining and mineral industries, despite access to financial resources and distribution channels, face bureaucracy, inertia and lack of flexibility, as opposed to small technology companies. Despite the high flexibility and capability of high innovation, they face a lack of resources and lack of market access; Therefore, both groups of companies need to work together to maintain their position in a competitive environment and survive. In this regard, considering the breadth and complexity of technological cooperation between companies, the INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM approach to analyze and explain the process of technological cooperation between the two groups of companies can be considered as a basic strategy.

The World Economic Forum, in collaboration with Stanford University and surveying more than a thousand entrepreneurs, identified key areas for the entrepreneurial ecosystem and provided a framework for analyzing it.

Within the proposed framework, the dimensions of the entrepreneurial ecosystem included cultural sponsorships, major universities as catalysts, education, the legal framework and government, support systems, financing, human capital and labor, and finally markets. Of course, each of these dimensions has its own subset.

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also provided a framework for analyzing the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Dimensions of this framework are: politics, financing, infrastructure, markets, human capital, support / services / communications, culture, research and development and innovation, and finally macroeconomic conditions in a good recent analysis in the country (Dr. Elahi and Collaborators - Journal of Innovation Management, Volume 7, Number 1, Spring 2017. Considering the purpose of the research during the review of selected documents, considering that several factors affect the performance of the ecosystem; its status from macro perspectives and dimensions such as economic, political, cultural, market and. .. has also been studied and analyzed.Also according to the definition of ecosystem, consisting of sets of elements and institutions that have specific relationships to achieve a specific goal, related elements and institutions that each take on different roles, The ecological analysis framework of technological collaborations between large and small technology companies evolves over time and has a life cycle that should be considered in ecosystem analysis, which can be schematically analyzed in the following model.

In reviewing various ecological analytical studies, in general, the actors involved in the ecology. Technological cooperation between large and start-up companies can be divided into the following 7 groups, which can also be applied and counted in the mining and mineral industries:

The first group is government organizations that are primarily responsible for governing the country, policy-making and implementation of government policies and duties in the country; Among these institutions, we can mention the government, the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the National Standards Organization, development organizations such as Imidro and Idro, the Trade Development Organization, and so on.

Government agencies can provide the basis for cooperation between large and small companies through the development of various programs and policies. In addition, government agencies increase the willingness of start-ups to partner with large corporations by providing a strong regime to protect intellectual property ownership.

The second group, educational and research institutions that are responsible for providing the human resources needed to work in the ecosystem through the provision of general and specialized training, as well as responsible for the implementation of necessary projects; Among these institutions, we can mention universities, research institutes and research centers such as Iran Mineral Processing Research Center, technical and vocational education, etc.

The third group, financial institutions in the technological cooperation ecosystem, are the institutions that are responsible for financing companies and research and development activities, including banks such as the Bank of Industry and Mines, venture capital funds such as the Mining Investment Insurance Fund, Angels Business and ... pointed out.

The fourth group, companies are the main players in the ecosystem of technological cooperation. In fact, this category refers to large industrial, small, medium and start-up companies that work together to form the ecosystem.

Fortunately, large companies such as the National Copper, Lead and Zinc Company and large steel companies such as Mobarakeh Gol Gohar, Chadormelo, Midco, etc. are present in the mining and mineral industries, which can have a good synergistic capacity with research and knowledge-based companies in the field of mining. Make.

The fifth group, support institutions, means institutions that take various measures to support (financially and non-financially) the growth and development of companies, as well as to accompany large and start-up companies; for example, four innovation centers such as the new center He mentioned the establishment of Imino Innovation from Imidro, accelerators, and sharing events such as localization exhibitions, etc.

The sixth group, specialized service providers that provide the necessary services to companies in the ecosystem in specialized fields such as legal issues, insurance, accounting, currency exchange, etc.

The seventh group, promotional institutions that seek to create culture at the ecological level; Including media, social networks and ....

The role of knowledge-based companies and research centers in the innovation ecosystem in the mining and mineral industries:

One of the most important goals of innovation systems in any country is to connect technology to the market and create wealth from it. On the one hand, social pressures to promote welfare and wealth creation from investments in the field of science and technology development, and on the other hand, economic hardships due to insufficient public resources, commercialization of research and technology achievements as one of the most important It has raised the priorities of universities and research institutes.

The most important methods of commercializing research and technology achievements in universities and research institutes are bachelor's degree, franchise, reproductive company, joint venture and direct sale of goods or services.

Among the methods of commercialization, the establishment of reproductive or branching companies is one of the most important methods of commercialization of research achievements, because on the one hand it tangible shows the socio-economic effects of research and innovation activities and on the other hand generates sustainable income for universities and research centers. Slowly Creating new job prospects for the human resources of these centers is another achievement of establishing reproductive companies.

Puppet companies are a kind of company formation process that carries with it the concept of separating a new product from the parent organization and forming a new economic activity around it. This reproduction takes many forms, but usually involves changes in control, risk, and distribution of benefits, and involves the transfer of technology or ownership from the parent organization to the owners of the new company.

Parent companies are seen as a tool for restructuring a grandmother organization. The formation of such companies can be done in different ways and depending on the role played by individuals (inventors and entrepreneurs) of the organization and technology, there may be certain definitions and types of it. But what all these definitions have in common is the existence of two elements, technology and the individual. A parent company can be seen as a risk-taking new business tasked with turning an idea into a product that will bridge the gap between the market and universities and research institutes.

In the research section, the importance of research centers in the development of research and technology has been demonstrated and proven. In this regard, we can refer to the Mineral Processing Research Center of Iran.

This center with nearly 15 years of experience in conducting processing research on a laboratory and pilot scale, as well as experiences in manufacturing processing equipment using the knowledge and experience created in the field of mineral processing and having suitable spaces for laboratories, pilots, manufacturing workshops and ... It has been carried out with unique equipment in the country in addition to research services and activities, and so far it is a suitable platform for targeting and carrying out development activities in order to create an innovation and development ecosystem and upgrade technologies in the field of mineral processing. On the other hand, considering the location and spaces in Kavosh research town where the center is located, Imidro, as a large and upstream organization of the center, can benefit from the space and facilities in Kavosh town by playing a regulatory role in creating ecology. Innovation in the mining sector and the mining industry veto the expansion of the bed and the implementation of the following development programs.

It should be mentioned that Imidro has a regulatory role in the implementation of the following programs and by facilitating and paving the way for the establishment and growth of research companies, knowledge-based, innovators, entrepreneurs, etc. by creating an innovation ecosystem in the field of mining and mineral industries. Provides:

/ Laying the groundwork for participation in the manufacture of mobile processing equipment by creating and developing manufacturing workshops and permanent exhibitions of testing and supply of equipment designed and manufactured by domestic manufacturers or with the participation of international companies in the form of technological cooperation for technology development in this sector

/ Completing the value chain of processing, environmental, etc. studies due to the lack of equipment, research and technology in different parts of the center by facilitating the participation of domestic and international brand companies and institutes in creating laboratories and related pilots.

Creating a permanent exhibition of localization of products and capabilities of domestic production in the field of mining and mineral industries

Establishment of a central database of the comprehensive system of localization and technology development in order to deepen internal construction and combine capabilities and needs, supply chain management (SCM) and also the platform of digital economy by creating and developing currency codes) Presidential proposal at the summit Kuala Lumpur 2019) in the field of mining and mineral industries and ...

Majid Vafaeifard - Director of Iran Mineral Processing Research Center - IRNA