According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, when economic actors have to obtain a license from the government to do anything, those who have to issue a license to conduct economic activities in the administrative process have a golden signature, which can be corrupting.

In examining why there are golden signatures in the mining sector, it is believed that two main factors have led to the creation of golden signatures, one is the state of the economy and the other is the existence of numerous and contradictory laws. Samat newspaper has talked to experts to examine this issue and the impact of the golden signature in the mining sector and how the golden signatures can be neutralized.

Constant change of rules
Hassan Hosseinghli, President of the Union of Lead and Zinc Exporters of Iran, stating that there are golden signatures in various matters of the mining sector, including government rights, taking limits, export development, etc., said: "Some people, without having the necessary knowledge, think that experts are; Therefore, they impose their opinion on the activists of the mining sector. Sometimes they have special goals and interests and thus write regulations and laws in a narrow way, which is not in the interest of developing the country's mines and is referred to as the golden signature.

He added that the constant change of laws would lead to more corruption and gold signatures: "When it comes to the export of minerals without paying duties or certain duties are considered, the golden signatures are also removed." In fact, the process has been done legally and there will be no more obstacles to move the work forward; However, this is not the case in practice, and we are witnessing a constant change in the laws, resulting in the emergence of golden signatures.

Husseinghli continued: "According to the law of the Sixth Export Plan, all minerals are free, but the relevant officials take the issue to the Economic Coordination Council and restrict exports and increase their duties." For example, while the export duties on crude minerals were to be collected at a fixed rate only until the end of last year, unfortunately this trend is still going on. In this way, we see the consequences of the golden signatures for the development of the mining sector.

Liberalization of the private sector
Asked how the golden signatures could be nullified, Hosseinghli Iran said: "Liberalizing the private sector and enforcing the law are among the key issues that eliminate the golden signature." The government and relevant officials should be told that they are not allowed to restrict exports and production in the mining sector through ongoing legislation.

Referring to the state of government rights and golden signatures in this regard, Husseinghli said: "In the past, all mines were treated in the same way and a government law was set for each mineral." After a while, it was suggested that the government salary of the mine should be determined on the basis of a coefficient as the basic salary and sales rate in the mine. With these conditions, the golden signature was placed in the hands of the official, ie the General Directorate of Mines of each province, and this issue caused the price of each ton of mineral to be determined according to taste, which varied from 200, 100 and even 10 thousand Tomans.

He continued: "In the situation that the determination of the selling price of minerals is at the disposal of the General Directorate of Mines of the provinces, sometimes there is a golden signature in some general offices."

Pointing out that all mining sectors should be under the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade, Husseinghli said: "In this regard, we can mention the role of the provincial mines council." This institution, which is a subset of the Ministry of Interior, sometimes makes unprofessional decisions by staying away from the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade; That is why we say that the mining mechanism should be summarized in the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade and all mining affairs should be in the hands of this ministry to prevent corruption.

The head of the Union of Lead and Zinc Exporters of Iran, emphasizing that one of the ways to deal with the golden signature is to use software, said: "Government rights should not be determined by individuals, but there should be a system once and for all that does not differentiate between miners." Of course, the software is written by the Engineering System Organization, which sets government rights for each mine and must be operational.

Pros and cons of the golden signature
Farzad Asadi, the head of Guilan Province Mining House, said about golden signatures in the mining sector: "People with different views offer different and contradictory definitions of golden signatures."

"Sometimes golden signatures have a negative meaning," he said. It becomes.

In an example, he said: "We have witnessed many times that a mine has an exploitation license and has also received a license from the High Council of Mines, but with a golden signature, its activity has stopped completely and has been taken out of the production cycle."

Asadi pointed out that if we do not have legal weakness, we will not see golden signatures either: in fact, communication bridges and golden signatures are formed because of the empty spaces between the laws.

Al-Asadi went on to say that the positive dimension of gold signatures should also be considered: "Although gold signatures can bring the mining sector to a standstill, on the other hand, they are sometimes the link between mining activities."

He added: "Certainly, wherever there is transparency, golden signatures can also move towards the development of the mining sector and help the growth of the mining sector."

Asadi pointed out the importance of the role of the private sector: When the position of the private sector in mining policy is less seen, more problems and issues arise.

He said: "Despite the amendment to the Mining Law submitted by the Industry and Mining Commission of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, private sector advice is not used."

Emphasizing on moving in the direction of this year's slogan, Asadi stated: In order to increase the level of production in the year of the leap of production, serious changes must be made in policy-making, while unfortunately we do not see a proper horizon and outlook.

Closing remarks ...
Experts believe that some people, without having the necessary knowledge, impose their opinion on mining activists. In this process, sometimes there are certain personal goals and interests. In this way, sometimes some people change the rules, which will lead to the benefit of a certain group in a certain period of time. These are called golden signatures, which ultimately affect the economy of a sector. Experts believe that this situation, which is in no way in favor of the development of the country's mines, is due to the constant change of laws and the existence of gaps between the laws, and will only lead to the growth of corruption in the country. In response to the question of how to remove golden signatures, mining activists and experts in the field emphasize the existence of transparent laws, liberalization of the private sector, the diminished role of the government, and the use of software and system instead of the individual.