In a meeting between the chairman of the board of directors of the
Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation (IMIDRO)
and the chairman of the International Contractors Association of Korea
(ICAK), the Iranian side invited Korean firms to invest in iron ore and
pellet production projects, according to the Mehr News Agency.
IMIDRO Chairman Mehdi Karbasian said that according to the Iranian
law, foreign investors will be given the right to operate Iranian mines
for 25 years.
In March, Karbasian said that 37 foreign companies have announced readiness to invest in Iran’s mining projects.
Some sectors of South Korea’s business industry will be allowed to
resume trading with Iran as policymakers have decided to partly lift a
ban on exports to the Middle Eastern country on March 17.
On March 11, the South Korean Finance Ministry said that it decided
on the policy restrictive and will apply only for some service
industries, following the U.S. administration’s recent easing of
economic sanctions on Iran for six months between January 20 and July 20
this year.
The ministry said the beneficiaries of the coming ban-lift will be
the four sectors of construction, telecommunication, medicine and
medical service management, and automobiles. “The service businesses of
the four sectors will likely expand, in particular,” said an official
who wished to remain anonymous.
In 2012, former Iranian industry minister Mehdi Ghazanfari said that
Iran possesses two percent of the world’s total mineral reserves.
He added that the mineral reserves include 12 metal and 36 non-metal ores.
About 5,000 mines are being exploited in the country, he stated.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Geology and Mineral Exploration Organization
Deputy Director Behrouz Borna has said that the Islamic Republic of Iran
has the largest mineral reserves in the Middle East.
Iran is also one of the top 15 countries in the world in regard to
mineral reserves and exports its industrial and mineral products to 159
countries, including Iraq, China, the United Arab Emirates, India, and
Afghanistan, he stated.