The Rugged Entrepreneurs ofIran's Small-Scale Mining

This article – a prize-winner at the 2nd World Conference on International Entrepreneurship – reports on a nation wide survey of some 50 small-scale mining enterprises (SMEs) in 10 Provinces in Iran. Four families of factors impacting their operations are reported here. The overriding finding of this paper is that these rugged entrepreneurs create micro operating conditions, at the margins of socio-political and economic environment, that suit them and nurture their operations. It also finds that these SMEs are true entrepreneurs who deploy innovative procedures in small scale or low-grade mines, operate under adverse regulatory conditions, take high-calculated risks, and yet remain optimistic and successful. Their overall contribution is highly positive and irreplaceable by others.