Today, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev visited Almalyk and got acquainted with the progress of the $ 5.12 billion Yoshlik-1 field development project, the presidential press service said.
The field occupies a fairly large area - 11 thousand hectares, and is considered one of the largest in terms of the volume of explored reserves. It contains 13 types of precious and rare metals such as gold, copper, silver, molybdenum and selenium. a third copper-processing plant is being built at the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC) for their processing.
In 2017, when the development of the field just began, 3 million cubic meters of mining operations were carried out here in one year. Thanks to the use of over 570 units of modern equipment worth 415 million dollars, productivity has significantly increased. Now the volume of work is at 40 million cubic meters per year.
“This field is a catalyst. Along with its efficient development, it is necessary to implement new projects for small fields. This will be a source of additional jobs and export growth, ”Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
Lime plant will also be built as part of the project, with 650 megawatt energy system and other infrastructure facilities to be erected, and will provide work for 6,000 people.
The head of state noted that this plant, and in the future - each industrial enterprise, must provide themselves with electricity from renewable sources. Instructions were given to expand scientific research and admission to targeted postgraduate studies, increase the potential of the Almalyk branch of the Tashkent State Technical University.
About Yoshlik-1 field
Following the project completion, following production figures will be achieved:
at the first stage - in 2021-2025 - 290 thousand tons of cathode copper, 38 tons of gold and 203 tons of silver;
at the second stage - in 2024–2028 - 400 thousand tons of cathode copper, 50 tons of gold and 270 tons of silver.
AMMC plans to launch a new project in the next three years.
The price of copper in Uzbekistan is at 3800-4200 dollars per ton. The mean price of copper in the world is $ 3200- $ 3500 per ton. The main global consumer of copper is China, whose share in 2020 was 54%.
According to international experts, the global copper demand is expected to grow by 40% by 2030 due to the growth in the production of electric vehicles, electrical engineering and the development of renewable energy sources.
