Uzbekistan is one of the world’s top ten countries in terms of resources of the most important types of minerals, such as gold, uranium, copper, potassium salts, phosphate rock and kaolin. Also our country occupies a leading position in the world in terms of production of gold and uranium.

It should be noted that only 40% of the country’s territory is explored in detail, so there is a huge, undiscovered potential.

For this purpose, a conference on development of mining and metallurgical industry of Uzbekistan, organized by the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan together with the World Bank and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan, was held on June 21. The theme of the event – “Uzbekistan: New opportunities in sustainable mining and geology”.

Key players of mining, metallurgical and related areas of the country and abroad, international financial institutions and banks, potential investors and independent experts were invited to participate in the conference.  Representatives of JSC “Almalyk MMC” also took part in this large-scale event.

The main purpose of the conference was to present the prospects and directions of development of the mining industry of the country, reforms carried out in the industry, potential investment opportunities, as well as to create an opportunity to establish relationships with international industrial partners and other stakeholders.

The participants of the event expressed their views on the ongoing reforms in the industry and their results. During the event Uzbekistan’s achievements in this direction were recognized, and representatives of the World Bank expressed their readiness to cooperate.

Abdulla Azizov, Deputy Chairman of the Board for Digitalization, made a report on the digital transformation projects implemented at the Complex and Abdukakhar Sainazarov, Deputy Chief Engineer for Technology, Head of the Technical Department, made a report on “Reduction of emissions through the introduction of flaring” on behalf of AMMC”.

- The mining industry is a driver of Uzbekistan’s economic development, - Abdulla Azizov said. For example, revenues of such enterprises as the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex and the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Complex account for more than 25% of the state budget. Last year the growth in this direction was 2% and it is expected to be 3% this year. From year to year the demand for non-ferrous metals increases, while the number of metals decreases, which determines the development of the industry. As a representative of the World Bank noted during the conference, global demand for copper now stands at 25 million tons per year; by 2050, that figure will reach 60 million tons. Another important factor is the growing popularity of electric cars, as well as the use of copper in renewable energy sources. More than 100 investment projects are being implemented at AMMC. One of the strategically important projects is the construction of copper processing plant-3, which will produce 1 million tons of copper concentrate per year. There are also plans to build copper processing plants No. 4 and No. 5 and a metallurgical complex. The total cost of all investment projects until 2030 is more than USD 15 billion. Our main goal is to increase production volumes, expand and rationally use existing reserves, create new jobs, thereby contributing to the development of the country’s economy. Having studied the experience of leading foreign companies in organizing new production facilities, we aim to increase productivity through the implementation of new technologies. At present, digital transformation at industrial enterprises is an important process. I would like to emphasize that the main goal of transformation is to open up to the global market, report according to global standards, and improve efficiency. For the last couple of years, digitalization has been implemented in all large enterprises. In particular, using AMMC as an example, we have implemented more than 60 automation and digitalization projects in 1.5 years. As a result, last year we achieved more than $30 million in savings. In 2023, we will continue strategic projects in this direction.

The conference included 4 panel sessions and discussions on topics such as “Expanding Exploration”, “The New Legal Framework for Mining, What Has Changed?”, “The Future of Mining in Uzbekistan: How Do Industry Champions Think?”, “Building a Value Chain in Mining for Transition to a Green Economy”.

Representatives of the leading enterprises of the mining industry of Uzbekistan, independent experts of the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, international consulting companies and well-known experts in the field delivered lectures and presentations at the conference.

At the end of the conference, participants received answers to their questions of interest on the above topics and expressed their opinions on the extensive work being done in the field and promising goals.

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