Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) – On 9 July, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev reviewed a report on the progress of investment projects in the field of geology.

Officials presented information on the achievement of set tasks. Nearly 3 million tons of coal have been mined in the last 6 months. The joint-stock company "Shargunkumir" has successfully put into operation underground mechanized complexes, achieving a daily coal production of 3,500 tons.

In the second half of the year, it is planned to mine an additional 5 million tons of coal, of which 1.8 million tons will be allocated to thermal power stations, over 1 million tons to the population, 540,000 tons to social institutions, and 1.8 million tons of local coal will be put up for auction.

Overall, coal production is expected to increase by 1.4 million tons compared to the previous year, significantly reducing the volume of imports.

The industry is also actively implementing investment projects, including the development of the Nishbash deposit, where the Chinese company Henan plans to invest US$400 million to mine up to 8 million tons of coal annually and enrich 5 million tons.

Additionally, substantial reserves of kaolin in the country are attracting entrepreneurs to develop deposits, with current extraction standing at 396,000 tons of this raw material. The 2024-2025 Geological Program aims to provide 7 deposits for mining up to 2.7 million tons.

There are also plans to collaborate with the Turkish company Bab Energy ve Petrol Urunleri A.S. to establish the production of enriched kaolin based on the Apartak-3 deposit in the Tashkent region, creating 40 new jobs and producing 70,000 tons of enriched kaolin annually.

The meeting highlighted the critical importance of strategic minerals for industry, leading to the establishment of the specialized joint-stock company "Uzbekistan Technological Metals Plant." Thirty-four projects totaling US$40 million have been developed for scientific and technological research and geological exploration.

Active measures are being taken to develop cooperation with foreign partners and attract leading foreign companies and specialists to this sector.

Recently, an agreement was signed with the KIGAM institute for a US$10 million grant project aimed at exploring rare minerals, technological research, and digitalization.

Information was also presented on the current progress of joint projects with the People’s Republic of China totaling US$800 million.

The President gave instructions to expand geological exploration and production of value-added products based on the obtained raw materials.