On July 6 of this year, the town of Almalyk hosted the international forum “Long-term prospects for development of the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex”, which was held as part of the Week of International Partnership Initiatives “New Uzbekistan: Progress, Innovation and Education”.

This event was attended by the international experts, the representatives of commercial banks and large companies, as well as the foreign business partners of the plant.

The event was opened by the Chairman of the Board of Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex JSC Abdulla Khursanov. In his speech, he spoke about the activities of the enterprise, as well as major promising projects implemented at the plant.

– Today, AMMC is the leader in Central Asia in the extraction and processing of copper-molybdenum, polymetallic and gold-bearing ores. The plant is also one of the 30 largest companies in the world producing copper products, – A. Khursanov noted in his report. The annual volume of copper production is more than 148 thousand tons, 18 types of products are exported to 20 countries of the world. The raw material base of AMMC is the discovered deposits Kalmakyr, Sary-Cheku, Yoshlik I and 4 underground deposits. On the basis of the JORC Code, together with SRK Consulting, the assessment of mineral reserves was carried out in accordance with the requirements of the international standard, and a geological and mathematical model of the deposits was created. According to the results of the assessment by the specialists from the leading companies, the Yoshlik I deposit was recognized as the largest in the world in terms of gold and copper content. As part of the concept for the development of the AMMC until 2030, the final stage includes the works on development of the Yoshlik I deposit and the construction of copper processing plant No. 3. In addition, the design and construction works begun at the facilities of a new metallurgical complex and the copper processing plants No. 4 and 5. As a result of the implementation of the investment project "Development of the Yoshlik I deposit" in 2030, the capacity for production of cathode copper will reach 500 thousand tons, gold – 50 tons, silver – 300 tons.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Executive Director of JP Morgan Bank Yungha Kim, Procurement Director of Glencore Maria Samoilova, Falk Porsche the Founder of Falk Porsche noted the geographical location of Uzbekistan, spoke about free market regimes between the states of the Middle and Far East and West, the status of a GSP+ beneficiary, the rich resource base, the works to become a member of the World Trade Organization. The participants also expressed their readiness to support joint projects, voiced their proposals on promising areas for establishing long-term cooperation.

The event was also attended by the regional leaders and representatives of large foreign companies. These are Deutsche Bank, KfW-IPEX Bank, Siemens, Zippelin, PWC, Ernst & Young, KPMG, SAP, Terralink, Aveva, Datamine, Tsifra, Noventiq Worley, K&K Gold GROUP, Sebine Technology, Sepro Mineral System, ME SOLUTIONS GP, ABM Anlagenbau und Maschinentechnik, Xingtai ME Mining Equipment, RWS Optimum, UET Consulting, CRRC Dalian.

The participants of the event shared their opinions about the event:

Falk Porsche, founder of Falk Porsche: “Our company has been investing in Uzbekistan for 30 years. It's no secret that thanks to the ongoing reforms in the country, Uzbekistan is becoming more and more attractive to foreign investors. Your country pays great attention to creating the favorable environment for doing business. Today's forum can serve as a vivid example. Uzbekistan is rich in natural resources, has the great industrial and intellectual potential. We are pleased to cooperate with AMMC in the implementation of major projects. The implementation of these works will increase production capacity, develop import-substituting products, and increase exports. And this, of course, will provide an opportunity to create new jobs. A number of issues related to the further expansion of cooperation were discussed at today's forum. During the event, the participants presented their projects, got a closer look at the activities of enterprises, and set goals for the future.”

President of Metso Outotec Marcu Terasvasara: “We started cooperation with Uzbekistan 30 years ago by establishing partnership relations with the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Complex. And joint work with AMMC was started in 2010. Our largest project was the sulfuric acid shop No. 4 of the zinc plant. Along with this, our equipment works at the AMMC factories. Our company is ready to support the mining industry. But we aim to further expand the scope of cooperation. And this forum has become an excellent platform for establishing, maintaining and developing mutually beneficial ties between its participants.

Also, within the framework of the event, the negotiations in the B2B format, panel sessions, as well as presentations of various projects were held.

The main purpose of the forum was to present the prospects and directions for the development of the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex, its investment opportunities, the reforms carried out in our country to familiarize our potential partners with the enterprise and strengthen cooperation with the present.

During the negotiations, an exchange of views took place on the existing problems in the industries, the growing demand for import-substituting products, and the introduction of technological solutions. Industry problems and their solutions are analyzed by the foreign and local experts.

Following the results of the meetings and panel sessions, the plant's foreign partners expressed their interest in continuing further work within the framework of close business cooperation, forming areas of cooperation in the short and medium term.