TEHRAN- A provincial official announced that 80 mining licenses for the inactive mining areas of North Khorasan province, in the northeast of Iran, will be awarded to the private sector through tenders.

Hossein Haji-Beglou, the head of the province’s Industry, Mining, and Trade Department, said that the tenders will be held in the next Iranian calendar month (starts on May 22).

Those who win the tenders but do not explore and activate the mines will be disqualified, he stressed.

The official pointed out that 45 inactive mines in the province were disqualified from miners last year, adding: “If the miner does not pay government’s dues, keeps the mine inactive or does not fulfill its commitments, it will be disqualified.”

Iranian Industry, Mining and Trade Ministry data show that 680 mining operation licenses have been issued in the previous Iranian calendar year 1399 (March 20, 2020-March 20, 2021) to register an 18.1-percent increase compared to the preceding year.

Based on the mentioned data, 576 licenses had been issued in the Iranian calendar year 1398.

During the previous year, 1,020 mineral exploration licenses were also issued in the country, which in comparison with 960 licenses issued in the year 1398, a 6.3-percent increase is registered in this sector.

MA/MA