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Appreciation of Realities

An internationally unsurpassed low energy cost is one of the investment incentives that the Iranian Government offers to attract foreign investment to the mining sector

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With a long experience of working in Iran to lead an international partner of the Iranian industry, Richard Wenderoth can clearly comment on the ways of doing business in Iran.
He is now the president of Zarcan Minerals Inc., a Canadian mining company incorporated in British Columbia, Canada, with a branch office in Tehran and two field offices in north and south of Iran. “I have seen Iran in war, in peace, in reconstruction and in progress,” he comments.
Wenderoth knows what has changed and what has remained the same about doing business in Iran. Perhaps that is why Zarcan has been amongst the first international companies to participate actively in the mining sector of Iran. His statements tell more:

Industrial Mining: Iran is an emerging opportunity in the industrial mining sector. The country is known to have vast, partly unexplored and untapped mining potential. Iran is a very old mining country: more than 2500 years ago mining and metal recovery were practiced in Iran, and the traces can still be found today in various parts of the country.
An internationally unsurpassed low energy cost is one of the investment incentives that the Iranian Government offers to attract foreign investment to the mining sector. Another incentive is the Law for Attraction and Protection of Foreign Investment which provides a guarantee that products can be exported and the foreign currency revenues can be used to service loans, pay dividends, or make further investments, and last not least for compensation in case the investment is expropriated or nationalized. The guarantees are issued in the form of a Government Decree which ranks as a sovereign guarantee among bankers.
The rapid development of exploration and sensing techniques in recent years together with the innovation in mining machinery and processing technology has created a need in Iran to improve its expertise and technology in the mining sector.

Potential investors and partners must not be influenced by the misgivings raised in the media

Opening Mines: The former Ministry of Mines & Metals – now the Ministry of Industries and Mines – definitely took a positive measure by inviting international companies and foreign investors to be involved in the development of the Iranian mines and metals sector. Iran is yet to be known as a country where you can do business so easily and holding international seminars where Iranian authorities could explain their policies as needed. However, implementing a policy is a different thing. Sometimes a whole administration has to be restructured to break away from bureaucracy and adapt to the changes that are inevitable.

The Real Iran: It is a fact that the image of Iran needs further improvement in the United States and Canada. The perception and knowledge about the history and current developments taking place in Iran are totally different between America and Europe. After several years of working and implementation of many commercially and technically successful projects, I obviously have a very positive experience of doing business in Iran. Moreover, I think Iran itself is a very interesting country.
Trust grows from experience, I am lucky to have successfully worked in Iran for quite some time. This experience gives me the trust to keep on working here and convince others to do the same.
A potential investor or partner of Iran must not be influenced by what he sees on TV or reads in the papers. Iran is a country which is trying to reposition itself in the world. As like any other developing country, Iran is trying to establish greater cooperation with the world and gain greater respect. It is one of the cradles of civilization and one has to respect that.