The paradox in Iran’s mines: abundant reserves and limited employment

Ehsan Ranjbaran_ ” Madan Nameh ” news site : Iran is among the richest countries in the world in terms of mineral reserves, and the unique capacities of this sector have been repeatedly mentioned as one of the drivers of economic growth and replacement of oil revenues. On the other hand, the latest official statistics from the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Trade indicate a worrying trend in the labor market of this sector, which shows that the projected employment in mining exploitation licenses has continuously decreased during 1404, raising the question of why the country’s mineral capacities do not lead to the creation of more job opportunities?

A review of the performance indicators of the Ministry of Mines and Mineral Resources’ Seventh Development Plan shows that the number of jobs predicted in exploitation licenses issued in the mining sector has decreased from 1,871 people in the spring to 969 people in the summer, 779 people in the fall, and only 450 people in the winter, which indicates a decrease of about 76 percent in this indicator in the space of one year.

Although this statistic alone does not mean a decline in actual employment in active mines, it could be an indication of a decline in new mining projects or a smaller scale of projects that have been granted mining licenses. If this continues, it could affect employment and investment trends in the coming years.

On the other hand, the geographical distribution of this employment also shows a different picture. In each quarter, only a few provinces have allocated a major share of the projected employment, while some provinces have not contributed any new employment. This concentration indicates that the prosperity of mining activities in the country is not distributed in a balanced manner and the development of this sector is still dependent on the limited capacities of a few provinces.

Investment: The Missing Link to Employment

Experts and activists in the mining sector believe that the decline in employment capacity cannot be explained solely by the number of licenses issued. They see the root cause of this situation as a decline in investment and the increasing difficulty of implementing mining projects.

Mehrdad Akbarian, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Iranian Iron Ore Producers and Exporters Association, emphasized in a specialized meeting to examine the opportunities and challenges of production and employment in the mining sector, noting that Iran has more than five percent of the world’s mineral resources: “The mining sector has experienced significant development over the past two decades, but a significant part of the created capacities has not yet been realized.”

According to him, market restrictions, energy shortages, weak infrastructure, and the country’s economic and political conditions have caused many of the created capacities to remain unused, which has also reduced the incentive to invest in implementing new projects.

Fatemeh Daneshvar, an entrepreneur in the mining sector, also considered the development of this sector to require extensive investment and announced: “Estimates indicate the need for about $50 billion in investment in the mining sector, of which at least $20 billion must be provided in the short term.”

These figures show that there is a significant gap between the country’s mining capacities and the financial resources needed to realize them, which directly affects the creation of new job opportunities.

Barriers that stop employment

In addition to a lack of capital, mining activists also cite a series of structural problems as obstacles to employment development. Economic sanctions, difficulty in financing projects, restrictions on machinery imports, equipment obsolescence, weak transportation infrastructure, energy imbalances, and problems in the business environment are among the factors that have made implementing mining projects more costly and risky.

In such circumstances, many projects are either postponed or implemented on a smaller scale, which ultimately manifests itself in a reduction in projected employment.

Employment is not just dependent on the number of licenses.

Another important point that should be considered in analyzing these statistics is the structure of the country’s mines. According to activists in this field, the majority of Iran’s mines are small and medium-sized mines, and only a limited number of large mines operate in the country. It is natural that the employment generation capacity of a large mine with several thousand workers is not comparable to small mines that usually employ a few dozen people.

Therefore, an increase in the number of exploitation licenses does not necessarily mean a significant increase in employment, and what matters is the quality of investment, the scale of projects, and the level of exploitation of mineral capacities.

The gap between university and industry; another challenge in the mining job market

In addition to economic issues, experts also point to the weakness of the skills training system. They believe that many mining graduates enter the job market without sufficient familiarity with the real mining environment, and that internships have in many cases failed to impart the practical skills needed by the industry.

This has caused part of the mines’ need for specialized human resources to remain unanswered, despite the availability of university graduates.

Future mining: more jobs or different jobs?

As new technologies expand, the mining industry is also moving towards automation, artificial intelligence, and smart mining. While this trend may reduce the need for some traditional jobs, it will increase the demand for skilled workers in the areas of technology, data, automation, advanced equipment maintenance, and smart mine management. From this perspective, the future of mining employment will depend more on the quality of skills and the level of readiness of the workforce to enter the new generation of mining than on the number of workers.

Declining employment: a sign of a deeper problem

The projected decline in employment in mining licenses cannot be considered a mere statistical fluctuation. Above all, this indicator provides a picture of the investment status and the pace of development of mining projects.

Until challenges such as lack of investment, energy imbalance, financing problems, aging machinery, weak infrastructure, and the gap between academia and industry are addressed, Iran’s mining capacities will have difficulty converting into sustainable job opportunities.

Iran is not facing a shortage of mineral resources; the main issue is to create conditions for these reserves to be converted into investment, production, and ultimately productive employment. Perhaps the most important message from the Ministry of Mineral Resources’ new statistics is that the future of the mining labor market is tied, above all, to reforming development policies and reviving investment in this sector.