As you know, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, with the assistance of the Iranian Mining Engineering Organization and various collaborators in different sectors, including the Geological Survey of Iran, university professors, and other mining experts, has prepared a series of guidelines for conducting exploration of various minerals under the category of mining regulations and standards. Please click on the link below to visit the Iranian Mining Engineering Organization website, under the Technical Regulations and Standards section (http://minecriteria.mimt.gov.ir/) to download them.

In line with the 1404 Horizon Document and the country’s development vision, one of the key policies of the Exploration Deputy is to streamline operations and create competition in the private sector by outsourcing part of the services to this sector, as well as providing consulting services in exchange for fees according to the tariffs outlined in the regulations and guidelines section (http://www.ime.org.ir/default.aspx?os=1&id=9&mid=45). For information about these services and tariffs, click on the link below to access the information uploaded on the Geological Survey of Iran website, under the Electronic Services section (https://gsi.ir/fa). In this regard, the Exploration Deputy of the Geological Survey of Iran has provided valuable experience to certain government and private organizations, as well as other entities with mining areas and/or needs for exploration services, such as services provided to IMIDRO within the framework of exploration project zones across the country.

Short-term program for finalizing remaining exploration projects from previous years that will be completed within less than a year. The medium-term program, within a 3 to 5-year timeframe, includes training human resources and empowering personnel, as well as conducting exploration activities in line with the roadmap and completing anomalies extracted from airborne geophysics and determining surface potentials. The long-term program of the Exploration Department includes exploring minerals needed in accordance with macro-level strategies regarding the mining industries, as well as exploration aimed at supplying the country's future mineral needs, especially strategic elements, using the latest global technology.

Based on the country's development vision document for the 1404 horizon and through a joint memorandum with the private sector, the Exploration Department of the Geological Survey plans to conduct a series of training courses each year at various exploration levels to transfer knowledge and empower the private sector and students in the country. In this regard, considering the government's macro policies in the mining sector and individuals' interests under specific conditions and regulations, a series of one-day, three-day, seven-day, and one-month training courses will be offered. Implementing this large-scale training program as part of the Exploration Department's strategy will lead to streamlining and creating competition in the private sector. This department, through a series of formal and informal meetings with some supporters (both moral and financial), will soon announce its training programs to all interested parties through official channels.

Every year, the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, the Geological Survey and Mineral Exploration of the Country, the Iranian Mining Engineering Organization, and the Plan and Budget Organization provide a series of exploration service tariffs annually for applicants' information. The Exploration Department, as a subsidiary of the Geological Survey of the Country and following other government subsidiaries, offers its services in the form of a set of annually approved tariffs to all applicants for exploration services. For information on these services and tariffs, please click on the link below to access the information uploaded on the Geological Survey of the Country's website, Electronic Services section (https://gsi.ir/fa), and according to the tariffs announced by the Iranian Mining Engineering Organization, Regulations and Instructions section (http://www.ime.org.ir/default.aspx?os=1&id=9&mid=45).

In line with Iran's development vision document, one of the policies of the Exploration Department to support new businesses and foster creativity and innovation in the country's mining sector has been to hold a series of meetings at organizational and provincial centers. Accordingly, with the establishment of the Office for Supporting Internet Businesses in February of last year (1396), individuals and innovative ideas in the field of mining and exploration have so far been introduced to relevant supporters. Among these, one can mention a mining startup in the field of gemstone cutting and related software, which has received support from the Exploration Department.

The Exploration Department of the Geological Survey of the Country, like other government subsidiaries and the Ministry of Industry, Mine, and Trade, has transferred the mining areas under its control to capable private sector entities. In this regard, last year specialized consulting with exploration services was assigned to the department's affiliated consultants, and during scheduled meetings, it was decided that detailed exploration would be entrusted to interested private sector parties in accordance with the law.

One of the very important strategies of the Exploration Department is to utilize the latest global knowledge in the field of mineral exploration in the country. In this regard, joint cooperation agreements with the private sector have been signed to transfer technical knowledge into Iran, and the results will soon be announced through official channels.