A Strategic Analysis of Iran's Dimensional Stone Mines Using SWOT Method

Iran has very high potential for production and export of dimension stone (rock quarried to size and shape specifications); Nevertheless, in spite of growing mine production during the past decade, in many instances this potential has been overlooked. Iran's share in global market's stones is small. Construction, decorative, and facing stones of Iran are among the highest-quality products in the world. In terms of variety of colors, texture, quality, and economic value, some of these reserves are unique and can be extracted and exported, creating jobs and income for the country. Lack of scientific planning, poor management and lack of clear strategies are the most important problems in these mines. Therefore it is necessary to investigate strategic factors of these mines. In this paper to analyze strategic factors in dimensional stone mines of Iran, first internal and external factors have been identified. Then the strategic planning of these mines has been developed. For this purpose, by using SWOT matrix and IE matrix (internal-external matrix) appropriate strategies have been selected.