GEOSURV-IRAQ

                                     ARABIC SITE

 Exploitation  Policy

       Geological surveys and mineral exploration activities over a  period of more than half a century carried out by the GEOSURV's specialists have resulted in revealing and assessing many mineral raw materials and industrial rocks promoting Iraq to be one of the countries rich in mineral resources.

The Iraqi state exploited these minerals and industrial rocks to build many industries.

Investment in this sector was kept under state monopoly and private sector was kept away because of existing laws and regulations which gave the state full monopoly and limited the private the private sector to construction material mining activities through obtaining licenses for small mines over short periods of time.

State domination led to a draw back in the economic development of this sector and mining activities were poor compared to available reserves. It can be seen that:

  Large reserves having adequate quality inforced by availability of well experienced geologists and engineers makes it possible for this sector to grow and become one of the pillars for Iraqi economy.

GEOSURV-IRAQ is encouraging private sector to invest in mineral sector through:

	To work on issuing new mineral exploitation law aiming at protecting investors rights and at the same time save guarding mineral wealth from wrong exploitation.
	To promote scientific awareness in the fields of geological survey mineral investigation and mineral exploitation.
	The private sector suffers from back of knowledge in these fields.
	To establish long term strategy for mineral exploitation policy binding to both private and public sectors.
	To monitor on continuous basis all mineral exploitation activities insuring proper exploitation and avoiding waste in mineral wealth.

The process of involving private sector to invest in mineral exploitation activities will take time (may extend to many years), before it becomes one of pillars in Iraqi economy due to many reasons. The most important reasons are lack of technical and scientific knowledge by private investors and shortcomings in the existing mineral exploitation law.

Keys to success are available, and GEOSURV-IRAQ has taken a number of steps towards building active mineral industry such as:

First: Putting forward proposals for legal legislation covering mineral exploitation with the aim of encouraging private investors to take bigger role in this field of investment.

Second: To make available all information related to mineral reserves, specifications, recommendations for investment in extraction related to the deposit site, and available infra structure.

Third: To enable private sector to carry out geological surveys and mineral exploration in promising locations making use of information available with GEOSURV, through a license over defined area.

Fourth: GEOSURV will continue carrying out geological surveys and mineral investigations as part of its duty in order to provide more information connected with mineral wealth and its industrial possibilities all over Iraq.

Fifth: GEOSURV will continue its mining activities currently going on, and will issue mining licenses to private investors outside the areas of its mining activities. Other companies currently mining industrial rock will continue their mining activities (example, Phosphate, Sulphur, Limestone for Cement). They have the choice to continue their mining activities or make arrangements with private investors.

Encouraging private sector to work in mining sector will create competition with the public sector in term of prices and quality. This will lead to technical, quality and productivity improvements.

GEOSURV-IRAQ will continue updating its information through obliging licensees in the fields of geological surveys, mineral investigation, mineral exploitation and mineral processing to provide GEOSURV with all information obtained through these activities. This obligation will be made through legal legislation.