Information was given about work in the field of geology

On July 9, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the report on the work being carried out and the progress of implementation of investment projects in the field of geology, the press service of the head of our state reports.

Responsible persons reported on the implementation of the tasks set at the beginning of the year.

In particular, almost 3 million tons of coal have been produced over the past 6 months. In the joint-stock company ‘‘Shargunkumir’’, underground mechanized complexes have been fully put into operation, daily coal production has reached 3.5 thousand tons.

In the second half of the year, it is planned to extract more than 5 million tons of coal. Of these, 1.8 million tons will be supplied to thermal power plants, more than 1 million tons to the population, 540 thousand tons to social institutions, 1.8 million tons of local coal will be put up for exchange trading.

Overall, coal production is expected to increase by 1.4 million tons this year compared to last year, while imports are expected to fall significantly.

A number of investment projects are also being implemented in the industry. In particular, the Chinese company ‘‘Henan’’ plans to direct investments in the amount of $400 million to develop the Nishbash field. As a result of this project, it is planned to mine up to 8 million tons of coal underground and enrich 5 million tons of coal per year.

Our country has large reserves of kaolin. Currently, entrepreneurs involved in the development of deposits produce 396 thousand tons of this raw material.

Therefore, within the framework of the Geology Program for 2024-2025, 7 fields will be offered to the initiators, due to which the production volume will be increased to 2 million 700 thousand tons.

It is also planned jointly with the Turkish company ‘‘Bab Energy ve Petrol Urunleri A.S.’’ to produce enriched kaolin on the basis of the Apartak-3 deposit in the Tashkent region. As a result, 40 new jobs will be created and 70 thousand tons of enriched kaolin will be harvested per year.

At the meeting held on April 29 of this year, the head of state paid special attention to the issue of minerals critical for industry. After this, the ‘‘Uzbek Technological Metals Plant’’, a joint stock company specializing in this area, was created. 34 projects worth $40 million have been developed aimed at scientific and technological research and geological exploration.

Measures are being taken to develop cooperation with foreign partners, involving leading foreign companies and qualified experts in this area. In particular, last month, during the visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to our country, an agreement was signed with the ‘‘KIGAM’’ Institute on a grant project for $10 million to search for rare minerals, conduct technological research and digitalization.

Information is also provided on the progress of joint projects with the People’s Republic of China totaling $800 million.

The head of state gave instructions on expanding geological exploration and producing value-added products from the obtained raw materials.