Authorities plan to establish a gold mining and processing cluster in Karakalpakstan and expand geological exploration, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a meeting in Nukus Saturday.
Exploration has so far covered only 20% of Karakalpakstan's territory, he said, noting that data on the area's mineral reserves remains insufficient as major investors arrive.
As an example, the president cited a project by a Chinese investor at the Urusoy deposit in Karauzyak district. The company invested $33 million and brought in new technologies, then discovered 4 tonnes of gold reserves across 200 hectares, valued at $563 million at current prices. The project has created 320 jobs.
Officials have been instructed to resolve, within a month, the issues raised by investors and to set up a gold mining and processing cluster with 1,000 jobs. They must also draw up a comprehensive exploration program and reassess the reserves at existing deposits.
Mirziyoyev also stressed the need for deeper processing of Karakalpakstan's mineral resources.
About 1 million tonnes of industrial salt are sold unprocessed each year from the Barsakelmes deposit in Kungrad district.
At the Kuskanatau deposit in Bozatau district, authorities estimate that processing mirabilite could yield up to 45,000 tonnes of sodium sulfate annually, while processing astrakhanite could produce magnesium sulfate.
A German company also plans to invest $30 million in a quartzite deposit in Beruniy district. The investor intends to launch production of crystalline silicon and export $25 million worth of products a year.
According to figures presented at the meeting, crystalline silicon sells for around $5,500 a tonne on the global market.
Officials overseeing the chemical industry were told to prepare and implement projects worth an additional $200 million, on top of $400 million in projects already planned. The new projects are expected to create 5,000 jobs.
The country produces about 120 tonnes of gold a year, roughly 100 tonnes of it from the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combinat.
