Assessments show that the portion of the mining industry in the global GDP is 5.1%. The portion of mining in the GDP of 2017 in South Africa is 8%, in Chile is 10%, Australia’s share is 6%, and Russia’s share is 8.5%. But what is the portion of mining in Iran’s economy? The total value of production in the mining industry in 2016 was about 31 billion dollars, which represents a 0.7% portion of this industry in GDP. This is despite the fact that the portion of mining in the country’s GDP has not been more than 1% in the last 60 years.
In what aspects the role of mining and mining industries in the economy is important? The evaluations show that the country’s mining industry in terms of “man’s need for minerals”, “financial transaction of the mining industry in the world”, “foreign trade of the mining and mineral industries”, “the value of Iran’s natural resources” and “Mineral reserves of Iran and the world” is important.
In the Wall Street report, oil, gas, coal, forest and wood, gold and silver, copper, uranium, iron ore, and phosphate, all important global resources, are considered indicators of wealth. With this approach, the countries of “Russia”, “America”, “Arabia”, “And Canada” are ranked first to fourth in the world, and “Iran” ranks fifth in the world with 27.3 trillion dollars of underground natural resources. Another issue highlighting the importance of mining and mining industries is that every person needs 1400 tons of minerals, metals, and fuel in a standard life, of which 15 tons are base metals.
financial transaction of the mining industry in the world indicates that, out of the 8 thousand billion dollars in transactions of the world’s industry per year, 2.2 thousand billion dollars (about 30%) is related to the mining industry.
The evaluations show that Iran’s portion of 1808 million tons of steel in the world is 524 million tons. From the 7300 million tons of coal production in the world, is about 2 million tons, from the 4200 million tons of cement production in the world, is equal to 53 million tons, from the 2200 million tons of iron ore production in the world, is 76 million tons and from 20.5 million tons of copper production in the world, is about 0.24 million tons.
In the foreign trade, Iran’s mining and mineral industries with exports of 9.2 billion dollars in 2018, assigned 21% of the country’s total export. Steel and steel products with 8.9 million tons worth 4.1 billion dollars are the first-ranked export of the mining chain. The evaluation study of Iran’s mineral reserves based on the USGS international report presented by the Iran Chamber of Mines and Mineral Industries Commission shows that 44 types of minerals have been reported from the world’s mineral reserves.
Meanwhile, 35 types of minerals have been reported for Iran’s mineral reserves. Limestone, rubble, ballast, gypsum, and salt rock have not been found in the mineral reserves of the world, while these minerals are found in the mineral reserves of Iran according to the report of the Statistics Center. Sand and gravel reserves are not mentioned in any of the USGS and Iran Statistics Center reports.
Assessments show that the portion of the mining industry in the global GDP is 5.1%. The portion of mining in the GDP in 2018 in South Africa, Chile, Australia, and Russia is 8%, 10%, 6%, and 8.5% respectively. But what is the portion of mining in Iran’s economy? The total value of production in the mining industry in 2017 was about 1.3 billion dollars, which represents a 0.7% portion of this industry in GDP.
This is despite the fact that the portion of mining in the country’s GDP has not been more than 1% in the last 60 years. According to Central Bank statistics, mining’s portion of GDP has decreased from 1.03% in 2017 to 0.68% in 2012. In calculating the portion of mining in the domestic economy, it is not possible to pay attention only to the achievements of exploitation, but also to consider a value-added chain, in which construction materials, plaster, etc. also play a role. This means that the construction of a house is not possible without mineral products.
In this report, the direct and indirect portion of the mining industry in the global GDP is 10.5%. In 2015, the value of ore minerals was 80 billion dollars in the United States, in the next cycle, it reached 630 billion dollars, and in the downstream industries, it reached 2,400 billion dollars and increased 30 times.
By realizing and considering the entire downstream chain of minerals, the portion of mining in Iran’s GDP will be up to 20%. The portion of mining in direct global employment is 30 million people. Mining is one of the fields that provide stable and balanced employment for local people. The average indirect employment rate of the mining industry in the world is 7 people, and among the fields of agriculture, education, tourism, and banking, it creates the most indirect employment.
The portion of mining in direct and indirect global employment is about 5.2% (200 million people). According to the report of the Statistics Center in 2017, the number of direct workers in Iran’s operating mines is about 96 thousand people. Considering the coefficient of creating indirect jobs in the mining industry (equivalent to 7 people), the total direct and indirect employment in Iran’s mining industry is equal to 768 thousand people.
According to the perspective document of 2025 and the production of 700 million tons of minerals, special attention to the mining and mineral industries as a self-sufficient industry (mining instead of oil) can play an effective role in the country’s economic growth. The importance of the mining and mineral industries and the role of their revenues will cover more than 60% of the country’s oil revenues. Iran exploits 1% of its mineral reserves, while the global average is around 5%.
If Iran globally exploits its mineral reserves, the income from mineral reserves will be many times the oil income. In the discussion of comparing Iran with other countries, the principle of matching cost and income (purchasing power) and access to infrastructure should be considered.
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