Anglo Exploration GmbH, a German subsidiary of Anglo American plc, officially opened an Iranian branch office in Tehran last September. The opening ceremony was attended by government officials, ambassadors and commercial officers from various embassies, Tehran-based executives from prominent companies and senior Anglo executives from London.
Anglo American plc, with its headquarters in London, is one of the world’s major natural resource companies principally engaged in the exploration and mining of a wide range of minerals world-wide and directly employing 250,000 people. Founded in South Africa in 1917, under the original name of “Anglo American Corporation of South Africa Ltd.”, the company was formed using finance raised in England and the United States, hence the name.
In the early 1990s, the Anglo organization identified Iran as being potentially favorable for investment with excellent geological potential. Through its subsidiary Minorco Holdings GmbH, Anglo commenced exploration in Iran in 1994, and focussed its efforts in the Takab region in East Azerbaijan Province. A regional exploration program, and a geological evaluation of the Zarshuran gold deposit were eventually commenced following extensive discussion with the Ministry of Mines and Metals. Earlier this year, Minorco Holdings GmbH was changed into Anglo Exploration GmbH.
Anglo currently has a potentially long-term view towards its involvement with exploration and mining in Iran, focused on gold and base metals. Its strategy has been to seek advanced properties or mining operations, identify potential drill targets for further exploration and commence regional exploration programs to define new targets. Currently, Anglo is continuing its drilling and evaluation program at Zarshuran in partnership with General Iranian Mining Company (GIMCO) and is trying to obtain rights to explore other areas.

Inauguration: Branch Manager Otto Zavesiczky and Vice President for Exploration Europe/Asia Region Chris Carlon

The opening ceremony was an opportunity for Iran International to talk to two Anglo executives: Dr. Chris J. Carlon, and Otto Zavesiczky.
Dr. Chris J. Carlon is Anglo American Vice President for Exploration Europe/Asia Region. He was in Tehran to attend the opening ceremony and “cut the tape”. Otto Zavesiczky is Anglo Exploration GmbH Iran Branch Manager. The presentation he made on behalf of his company in the International Mines & Metals Investment Forum (IMIF’99) indicated the lengthy process of negotiations and evaluations that the company has been through so far. “The point which we want to make is that Anglo is different from the junior companies that start operating in Iran through a minor investment. When a senior company like Anglo Exploration GmbH establishes a branch office in a country, it definitely has a long-term view toward investment for the development of mining projects in that country,” stresses Zavesiczky.
Following are the statements made by Dr. Chris J. Carlon and Otto Zavesiczky on the company, and its plans for Iran:

The primary interest of Anglo American is in exploration and mining of a wide range of commodities worldwide, ranging from coal all the way to diamonds. Given Iran’s rich geological potentials, we are very interested in increasing our exploration activities across the country. The company is also very interested in taking base metal projects.
Since Minorco was one of the first potential investors in the Iranian mineral sector, we obviously faced a number of obstacles and circumstances which were new both to the Ministry of Mines & Metals and our company. We have been able to come to an arrangement with the Ministry whereby we could undertake an initial evaluation of the Zarshuran area to see if it is the kind of project that Anglo would like to be involved with. In addition, the Ministry has also permitted us, through an agreement, to perform regional exploration program in the Takab area.

A Tehran Office from now on: Anglo Exploration GmbH team

Anglo has been very active as the two programs have been running together. We have been learning how practically we can undertake exploration here in Iran. At the same time, we have been in constant discussion with the Ministry of Mines & Metals so that we could understand how commercially and legally we can do business in Iran.
Some $3 million of investment has so far been made by Anglo since our presence in Iran started. In addition, there has been a lot of work within the international organization whether on the ground here in Iran or other exploration offices of Anglo American both in London and Johannesburg. The company has had to go through regional information and target generating, among several other phases.
We move in a fairly standard way when we operate in a country. First of all, we look at potentially explorable areas which have already known occurrences, then we rank them as being possibly significant on a regional basis. Afterwards, we get more specific, working on smaller areas and defining individual industry targets. A number of these measures have already been taken in Iran.
The results of our evaluation demonstrate that Anglo has been correct in its interpretation of Iran’s mineral wealth. However, the rules and regulations for foreign investment in the Iranian mining code are yet to be completely clear and precise. One of the biggest concerns for foreign investors in the minerals industry is security. Security of investment and security of “title” or licensing are some areas in which we need further discussion. Anglo Exploration GmbH is essentially interested in all of Iran. We continue to be optimistic, but we are realistic.