Uzbekistan to increase coal production to 8 million tons per year

On July 9, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the implementation of works and investment projects in the field of geology. Officials informed the head of state about the fulfillment of the tasks set at the beginning of the year. This was reported by the press service of the president.

It is noted that nearly 3 million tons of coal were mined in the republic in the past 6 months. At “Shargunkumir” JSC, mechanized mining complexes were put into full operation, and coal production increased to 3.5 thousand tons in one night.

More than 5 million tons of coal are planned to be mined in the second half of the year. Of this, 1.8 million tons will be delivered to thermal power stations, more than 1 million tons to the population, 540 thousand tons to social institutions, 1.8 million tons of local coal will be sold on the stock exchange.

This year, coal production increased by 1.4 million tons compared to last year, and the volume of imports decreased significantly.

A number of investment projects are also being implemented in the network. In particular, it is envisaged that the Chinese company Henan will make a direct investment of 400 million USD in the development of the “Nishbosh” mine. As a result of this project, it is planned to extract up to 8 million tons of coal per year by mining method and enrich 5 million tons of it.

“There is also a large reserve of kaolin in the country. Currently, 396,000 tons of products are being mined by entrepreneurs involved in the exploitation of mines. This is very rare. Therefore, in 2024-2025, within the framework of the Geology program, 7 mines will be offered to the initiators, and through this, the volume of mining will be increased to 2 million 700 thousand tons,” the report says.

In addition, Bab Energy and Petrol Urunleri A.S. of Turkey based on the Apartak-3 mine in Tashkent region. it was noted that work is being carried out in cooperation with the company. As a result of this $15 million project, 40 new jobs will be created and 70,000 tons of enriched kaolin will be produced annually.

At the meeting held on April 29 of this year, the president paid special attention to the issue of minerals important for industry. After that, JSC “Uzbekistan Technological Metals Combine” specializing in this area was established. 34 projects worth 40 million dollars aimed at scientific and technological research and geological exploration have been developed.

Measures are being taken to develop mutual cooperation by attracting leading foreign companies and qualified experts to this sector. For example, last month, within the framework of the visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to Uzbekistan, an agreement was signed with the “KIGAM” Institute on a $10 million grant project for the search for rare minerals, conducting technological research and digitalization.

The president was also informed about the progress of the projects in cooperation with the PRC with a total value of 800 million USD.

The head of the state gave instructions on expansion of geological exploration and production of value-added products from raw materials.