Tehran Times - Seven projects worth more than $660 million are ready to be inaugurated in Iran�s mining sector across the country, IRIB reported on Sunday, quoting head of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) as saying.

According to Khodadad Gharibpour, the mentioned projects are based in four different provinces namely Isfahan, Zanjan, South Khorasan, and Kerman.

Gharibpour noted that three projects worth $37 million will be inaugurated in Zanjan, South Khrasan and Isfahan provinces which create 213 jobs directly and offer 950 indirect job opportunities.

The other four projects worth over $630 million are going to go operational in Kerman province.

The projects include a sponge iron production unit with a capacity of 4,000 tons of sponge iron per year and development of Gol-e Gohar Iron and Steel Development Company, as well as a combined cycle power plant with a capacity of 160 megawatts.

�Inauguration of these projects in Kerman province will lead to direct employment of 1,600 people and creating 1,700 indirect opportunities,� Gharibpour said.

Back in April, Gharibpour had said that projects worth $3 billion are planned to be inaugurated in the country�s mining sector in the current Iranian calendar year (began on March 21, 2019).

The official said that 20 projects implemented by IMIDRO in the previous year created 4,440 direct jobs and 25,300 indirect jobs.

The inaugurated projects were related to the chains of steel, copper and aluminum products as well as some infrastructure projects, the official mentioned.

The deputy industry and mining minister also said that the projects were implemented in collaboration with the country�s private sector.