According to the International Iranian Stone Exhibition, of the approximately eight thousand billion dollars annual turnover of the industrial sector in the world, about 30% is related to the mining sector, and today's economic conditions and the expansion of oppressive international sanctions require mining and industrial development Minerals should be considered as a serious necessity for Iran and we should overcome the current difficult situation by relying on this part.

The diversity and richness of huge mineral reserves has made Iran one of the potential countries in the world in terms of the ability to supply the raw materials needed by industry, and Iran's geographical location and geopolitical situation in the region, allows the export of mineral industries to all parts of the world.

For this reason, focusing on the exploration of new reserves is a must for the country's mining sector, and in the meantime, what can help speed up the growth and success of new reserves is the transition from current traditional methods and the use of new technologies.

Mineral exploration promises promising employment growth, and this trend is being seriously pursued in West Azerbaijan, prompting officials to seriously pursue progress in the mining sector, with the Governor of West Azerbaijan, as the highest government official, emphasizing this trend.

Mineral exploration promises promising sustainable employment growth in West Azerbaijan

The governor of West Azerbaijan said: "Identification of new capacities, development of small mines and establishment of mining processing units in order to prevent the sale of raw materials are among the strategies of the province's management for the growth of sustainable employment in this sector."

Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari added: "Explorations in the field of precious metals and other metals have drawn good days for the mining field of West Azerbaijan."

He continued: "Revival of neglected mineral capacities in West Azerbaijan province will lead to more prosperity in the economy and employment."

He added: "With the good results that have been formed from the exploratory studies of Ghadir Company in the province, the grounds for concluding a memorandum of cooperation and investment in the mining field have been provided."

Atlas of Mines of West Azerbaijan must be prepared

Given that identifying situations and paying attention to them can facilitate development and access, a comprehensive map of the mines should be prepared, which is also emphasized by the senior government official in West Azerbaijan.

The governor of West Azerbaijan, stating that the province's mineral capacity for investment has not been properly calculated and specified, said: "In order for the private sector to invest in the province's mines, a mine atlas must be prepared, which includes investment capacities and advantages."

Shahriari called employment and profitability in the mining sector necessary to provide the necessary infrastructure for private sector participation and added: "To date, the capacity of mines has not been properly utilized in the development of the province."

The mines of West Azerbaijan should be handed over to specialized people

He said: "The mines of West Azerbaijan should be handed over to specialized and qualified people and this should be a priority for the relevant authorities."

He added: "The selection of people with expertise in the field of mining will reduce the existing problems in the exploitation of mines."

The governor of West Azerbaijan continued: "Also, if specialized people work in the mines, less damage will be done to natural resources and the environment."

He said: "Solving some problems in this area does not require much credit and can only be solved and followed up with management measures and delegating authority to the provinces."

Shahriari emphasized: the authorities should activate the small-scale mining rehabilitation plan as soon as possible.

There are 51 types of minerals in West Azerbaijan

Mineral resources are very important and strategic primary resources for various industries and are considered as a guarantee of their survival; Mines are considered as economic drivers in any country and due to the vastness of minerals and the existence of valuable reserves in West Azerbaijan, investing in this sector in the coming years will have a brilliant economic growth for the province.

Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Industries of the Industry, Mining and Trade Organization of West Azerbaijan, noting that 68 types of minerals have been identified in the country, said: "There are 51 types of this number in this province, which is in the exploration and exploitation stage."

Parisa Abedpour continued: The main minerals are used in industries such as construction, cosmetics, health, steel, oil and such factors.

He added: The conversion industries of this province are also active in the sectors of processing and extraction of gold, decorative stone, cement production, lime, gypsum and the production of micronized powders.

Annual extraction of more than 17 million tons of minerals in West Azerbaijan

Extraction of minerals from mines can provide employment and currency development for the region and the province, and this in itself leads to economic development.

According to the Deputy Minister of Mines and Mining Industries of the Industry, Mining and Trade Organization of West Azerbaijan, 17 million 680 thousand 825 tons of various minerals are extracted annually from the mines of this province.

Abedpour, stating that this amount is extracted from 489 active mines in the province and sent to processing centers inside and outside the country, said: The amount of definite reserves of mines in West Azerbaijan was one million 221 thousand 657 tons, which in this section for five thousand 200 people are directly employed in the mining sector of the province.

He stated that the amount of investment in these mines is 3,740 billion and 138 million Rials and added: "Today, the mines and minerals in the country have become the main factor of economic development and iron and steel are the most important minerals for development." Economic, wealth creation, job creation and value added.

Due to the processing of various products, conversion industries reduce the waste of production resources, target production, create export opportunities and increase employment and income of users in various fields, and in the full sense of the word, this industry is the path of development and production leap in various sectors.

The capacity of the mineral processing industries of West Azerbaijan reached 98 million tons

The mines and all kinds of minerals in West Azerbaijan are a great blessing from God and their use provides a part of development and employment for the youth of the region, but in addition to benefiting from these divine resources, one should be familiar with how to convert and use them in various industries. And benefited from the capacity of conversion industries for economic prosperity.

According to the head of the Industry, Mining and Trade Organization of West Azerbaijan, the production capacity of mineral processing and conversion industries in the province has reached 98 million 733 thousand 641 tons per year.

Gholamreza Babaei stated: This processing capacity is active and performed by 847 units of processing and conversion of minerals in different sections of sand, metallic and non-metallic minerals and gold in the province.

He continued: "More than 18 thousand and 334 billion rials have been invested in West Azerbaijan to set up these units of conversion industries, which is about 10 times more than the current exchange rate."

The head of the Industry, Mining and Trade Organization of West Azerbaijan said: "These units have provided stable employment for 22 thousand and 53 people in this province."

Referring to the field of activity of these conversion industries, Babaei stated: washing and granulation of building stone materials (sand, sand, ballast), gold concentrate, washed and granulated sand, unreinforced concrete products from ordinary concrete, compact bricks, all kinds of pottery Machine (automatic) and ordinary fluid concrete are among the fields of activity of mineral conversion and processing industries in this province.

He said: "One of the biggest advantages of this province in the development of conversion industries is the border of West Azerbaijan with three foreign countries, which can greatly facilitate exports and be a good market for the products of these production units."

The mining sector and downstream industries are the axis of development of West Azerbaijan, but the stone mines of this province face many problems such as selling raw materials and lack of market.

It is necessary to provide facilities with low bank interest rates for working capital as well as the modernization of mining machinery to improve the performance of the mines in this province.

West Azerbaijan is in a good position in terms of mineral reserves, but it still has a long way to go before it can fully exploit the capacities of the mining sector and the mining industry.

The area of ​​West Azerbaijan is covered by three of the twenty zones of systematic exploration of the country, including "Oshnoyeh-Khoy", "Marivan-Mahabad" and "Shahin Dej-Mahneshan".

* IRNA