It is known that air and water pollution, soil erosion, desertification, and the excessive use of fossil fuels lead to global warming, the increase in natural disasters, and pose serious threats to the environment and public health.

At the suggestion of the Head of our state, the year 2025 was declared the “Year of environmental protection and the Green economy”, and the introduction of “green” technologies, water conservation, steep increase in green planting areas, mitigating the consequences of the Aral Sea disaster, solving the waste problem, and most importantly, strengthening the health of the population were identified as priority tasks.

Based on these tasks, Davron Abdurakhmonov, the Head of the environmental protection department of the Central office of the AMMC, expressed his views on the tasks envisaged at JSC “Almalyk MMC”.

- Analyzing the results achieved in the last reporting year in the field of environmental protection and the tasks set for the current year, we can see that work in this area is reaching its highest stage by this period. First, if we focus on the work carried out to reduce emissions into the atmosphere, last year alone, 118 dust-gas cleaning equipment underwent routine repairs and 24 dust-gas cleaning equipment underwent major repairs, bringing the efficiency of the equipment to 99.8 percent. The technical project was developed to transfer service motor vehicles to electric and hybrid vehicles. 20 electric vehicles were purchased as a pilot project. Significant results were also achieved in reducing technogenic emissions. By 2024, more than 700 thousand tons of slag waste from the copper smelter were processed at the 2^nd Copper concentrator plant and precious metals were extracted from it. The sale of 480 thousand tons of iron-containing waste generated from the processing of slag waste to cement plants as secondary raw materials was launched. More than 41.7 thousand tons of slag cake technogenic waste were sent for processing in the form of semi-finished products. The effective use of water resources was also in our focus. In order to increase the efficiency of water treatment facilities, world experience was studied by the industry experts, and negotiations were held with the Finnish company EPSE Oy, which has practical experience in the treatment of technogenic and wastewater, with the involvement of the Ministry of economy, and pilot works were carried out.

For practical application of the performed work, a pilot plant was brought by EPSE Oy and installed at the chemical water treatment plant of the Kokh-Bulok mine. A visit by the company's specialists and further improvement of work in this regard are planned.

The tasks were also set for the implementation of international environmental requirements, and a number of actions were taken to implement them. In particular, all the production spaces were brought in line with the requirements of ISO 14001:2015. With the involvement of Copper mark specialists, CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions released into the atmosphere during the plant's activities during 2023 were calculated, and a manual for recording and reducing CO₂ gases in the future was developed. In order to increase the ESG international rating and ensure transparency, the enterprise's operation and environmental impact report were posted on the online platform.

Setting tasks for the current reporting year, a number of works are also planned to further expand the results achieved in the above areas. We will provide a separate report on these works, including the implementation of activities envisaged for the transition to "green" economy, in the future.

The list of renewable energy sources built and under construction for the needs of AMMC is also distinguished by its diversity and focus on efficiency. High-power solar photovoltaic power plants have been installed at a number of enterprises of the Complex over the past years and have proven themselves in practice. The goal is set to further expand the work in this area. In particular, the construction of 2 PVPPs with the capacity of 250 MW in Pop district of Namangan region will be carried out in two stages. It is also planned to build a PVPP with the capacity of 150 kW in Ahangaron district. Solar collectors installed in the structural units of the Complex have shown a number of advantages and efficiency. Based on the experience gained, it is planned to install such devices with the capacity of 19,400 liters.

As we know, the national project “Green Space” was launched in our country three years ago. Within the framework of the “Green Space” and “Green Belt” programs, in the autumn of 2023 and spring of 2024, the enterprises and departments developed 242 hectares of rainfed cropland, and 1.5 million ornamental and poplar seedlings were planted on the cultivated lands. In order to organize an irrigation system for seedlings, 6 additional water wells were dug and water was pumped out, and more than 2 thousand meters of pipes were laid for water supply. In the autumn of last year, the work began for planting 250 thousand fruit and ornamental tree seedlings. It is planned to continue this work on a large scale and plant 120 thousand fruit and ornamental tree seedlings in the spring of this year. Another important aspect is the provision of drip irrigation systems for all gardens and cultivated areas.

Based on the above facts, we can conclude that the environmental protection strategy of JSC “Almalyk MMC” is in line with the tasks set by the head of our state to achieve environmental sustainability in our country, transition to a "green economy", implement a harmonious "green transformation" of sectors and industries, adapt to climate change and mitigate its consequences, improve the quality of life of the population, and transition to a new, "green development" model of economic growth.