“Leadership, despite its disadvantages, is a more successful way in transferring IMIDRO’s companies.” Said IMIDRO’s chairman.
According to the Mining
Investment Insurance Corporation’s public relations, Vajih-O-Allah Jafari said,
in a meeting with the managers of IMIDRO’s companies, “transferring IMIDRO’s
companies through leadership follows s. 35 of the Mines Act and is defined
through long-term investment.”
“The process was that instead of the Privatization Organization doing
the sale and possession process, the companies would be sold to the investors
through auctions, and the winner would pay the government the money. In the
leadership contract, however, the aim is that both the law and the legal
process would be taken into account both in the companies’ transference and
their development.”
Pointing out that this way had its problems at the beginning, Mr. Jafari
continued: “this method was completed overtime. There are still some problems
such as the issuance of permission, and we have had some suggestions to the
Ministry of Industry, Mine and Trade, so that it’d be among the investment
instructions, and be among the familiar ways of transference in the ministry.
These contracts are bound between the investor and the government, and we want
the investor not to have any worries for the development throughout the time of
the contract. So far the investors who have used this method have been
successful, and there were very few cases of dispossession or cancelling the
contract.”
8 Billion Dollars of Investment in the Private Section
Pointing out that IMIDRO would do anything it takes to pave the way to guide
the private section for investment in the Mine and Mine Industry until it gets
the desired result, Mr. Jafari said: “this company has absorbed 8 billion
dollars of investment during the last few years, and this number is increasing
at the moment. 3 billion dollars of this amount is now in the production phase
or is being worked on.”
A Win-Win Situation for both the Private Section and the Government through
the New Method of Transference
Emphasizing on the fact that the companies transferred to the leaders have
had both benefits for themselves and the government, Mr. Jafari said: “one of
the companies transferred by the leadership method was Nakhlak’s lead, and it
was supposed to be transferred to the Ministry of Cultural
Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism to become a museum, but now it is working to its highest with the best
development and a high range of employment.”
“We’re trying to make the extraction and sale contract to be equivalent to
the production license. We would also try to get permissions if there is a need
to get them from higher authorities in any step of the way.”
Steps Taken to Expand the Discoveries
Mr. Jafari said that in the discovery development project, after
identifying several anomalies, they figured out that there is a possibility to
increase the annual digging from 200000 m2 to 500000 m2,
“despite such opportunities, we lacked proper machinery, and that is why we
formed Paya consortium, with the presence of large mining companies. There was
not a professional digger, appropriate for increasing the discovery potentials
of the country, and so we decided to start professional digging training
(theoretical and practical).”
No Method Has Worked Like the Leadership Method Transferences of the Principle
44
Morteza Azizi, the leader of the Khour and Biabank Potas Company, talked
about the development of the country’s Mine and Mining Industries, and that it
would need the all the Mine and Mining Industry sections, and said: “forming
forums and using Iranian producers, we can move towards increasing the
products, and learn from each other’s potentials, develop the production chain
and be united in working with government organizations. Transferring government
companies to leaders was a great plan, and we have to thank those who made it
possible, because this way we had an increase in the capacity and chain production,
and protection of government’s possessions, and we have not seen anything like
it in the principle 44 transference.”
An Increase in Nakhlak Production, Employment and Development
Pointing out that before Nakhlak Company’s transference in 2016 the amount
of soil harvested was 20000 tons a year, and now it’s 40000 a year, Mr. Alireza
Sadr, Nakhlak’s Leader, said: “this number will reach 1 million next year. The
production of concentrate has also increased from 2000 tons a year (before the
transference) to 14000 tons and will reach 20000 tons next year. The number of
employees has also increased from 150 to 600 people at the moment. This mine
has changed from a traditional to a modern and mechanized mine with long
tunnels now and has had huge investments. There were many problems, however,
which were solved with the support from Iran Minerals Production and Supplies
Company.”
An Increase in Production, More than Promised
Esmail Panahi, the manager of Amin Institute, said: “the annual production
of Anguran has gone beyond what was promised, from 100000 tons to 130000 tons, and
the production of Esfordi phosphate has also increased from 45000 tons, which
was promised, to 60000 tons. The TSP is in hot test stage.”
An Increase in the Production and Employment of Pirbakran Mine
Pointing out that he has been the leader of the limestone mine since 2020,
Mr. Ranjbar said: “Before we come, only 34 people worked there, and now there
are 89. Our production in 2021, comparing to the year before that, had a 34%
increase (from 574000 tons to 770000 tons). In the first 4 months of this year
we had a 35% increase as well. The problems we had were solved by Iran Minerals
Production and Supplies Company. We still have some problem that we hope IMIDRO
would help us get over them.”
Mr. Jafari, the Creator of the New Transference Method
Gholam Reza Nakhaei, the leader of Joghatay Ferrochromium Plant,
talked about Mr. Jafari creating this method in the first place and said: “the
advantages of this method have not been clarified enough for the society and
people need to hear about it. The average production of the Joghatay Company
was 5000 tons a year before the transference, and last year it reached 26000
tons. 60% of the products were exported and it brought our country 20 million
dollars. The number of people working there in 2017 were 130, which is now
430.”
A Double Increase in Mining
Supplies
Ebrahim Jamili also talked about the leadership method being one of the best
methods to reduce the government’s management, and said: “after we started
working in the Kuchali Shomali thermal coal mine, the discoveries increased the
supplies to twice what it was before. We had good cooperation with foreign countries
in order to construct our company, and it will soon become one of the country’s
best companies. Forming forums in Mine and Mining Industry can increase the
cooperation between different sections and protect the collective interests. It
could also decrease the negative competition between companies and help explain
the actions of investors in parliament and decision-making centers.”
Challenges Ahead
Iman Atighi, the CEO of Gol Gohar company, pointed out the challenges ahead
of Mine and Mining Industry, and said: “among the challenges are the customs
and product release, short-term exportation bylaws, the low possibility of
investments by the banks because of guarantees, etc. we have to domesticize the
production of machinery, and where it does not work, we have to import them.”
In this meeting, leaders of other companies also made proposals such as
issuing establishment licenses in the name of leading companies, the
possibility of using mineral tailings as an incentive for investors, mining and
selling licenses as production licenses, taking advantage of appropriate tax
exemptions related to different regions, the possibility of paying royalties
after the sale and creating a logical basis for receiving government rights.