TEHRAN - Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) has signed a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding (MOU) with three government entities to develop smart technologies in the mining sector, IRNA reported.As reported, the MOU has been signed with the country’s Automation and Digital Technologies Development Headquarter, Technology and Innovation Department of the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology, and Mines and Materials Processing Department of the Ministry of Industry, Mining and Trade.The MOU is aimed at facilitating cooperation and effective interaction among the mentioned parties to realize the slogan of the year which is Knowledge-based and Job-creating Production in the mining sector.The promotion of smart technologies in the country's mining industries with the aim of increasing productivity, competitiveness, and resilience is also another major goal of this MOU.Some of the measures expected to be taken by the signatories based on the MOU include forming joint research and development consortia among the country’s large mining firms and knowledge-based companies, investigating the technological needs of mining companies and industries to create a large-scale market for knowledge-based companies, and guaranteeing the risks of cooperation between mining and knowledge-based companies to promote positive interaction between the two.Defining meaningful incentive packages for large mining companies to encourage them to adopt new technologies, as well as establishing industrial technology centers with the aim of promoting research collaborations among large mining firms, Knowledge-based companies, and major universities are also among the subjects covered in the MOU.Having 81 different types of minerals, Iran is one of the top 10 mineral-rich countries across the globe.

In this regard, the Iranian government is pursuing several programs for promoting the mining sector as a major contributor to the country’s economic growth.EF/MA