Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — A Chinese investor has identified 4 tonnes of gold reserves across 200 hectares at the Urusay deposit in Karauzyak district of Karakalpakstan after investing US$33 million in the project, including investments and technology, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev said at a meeting on the socio-economic development of the region in Nukus.
Mirziyoyev said 320 jobs had already been created at the deposit. He instructed officials to resolve issues raised by investors within a month, establish a gold mining and processing cluster with 1,000 jobs, develop a comprehensive geological exploration programme and reassess the reserves of deposits across the region.
The president noted that geological surveys had been conducted on only 20% of Karakalpakstan’s territory. He said that with the arrival of major investors, available data on raw material reserves was insufficient.
Mirziyoyev also highlighted a German company that has invested US$30 million in developing a quartzite deposit in Beruni district and plans to establish crystalline silicon production, with exports worth US$25 million a year. According to him, one tonne of crystalline silicon costs US$5,500 on the global market.
The president separately mentioned the Borsa Kelmas deposit in Kungrad district, where 1 million tonnes of technical salt are sold annually without processing. He also referred to the Kuskanatau deposit in Bozatau district, where mirabilite can be processed to produce 45,000 tonnes of sodium sulfate a year, while astrakhanite can be used to produce magnesium sulfate.
