More than 1.7 million tons of coal were produced in January-November in Tajikistan, according to the Tajik Ministry of Industry and New Technologies.
Moreover, according to official statistics, as of early December, about 1.6 million of coal were mined in the republic.
In Tajikistan, coal mining and production is carried out at 14 deposits.
The Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Tajikistan added that 20 domestic and foreign companies were involved in the work.
After Tajikistan gained independence, coal production reached 20,000 tons per year.
In recent years, the country produced a record amount of coal – 870,000 tons in 2014, over a million tons in 2015, as many as 1.4 million tons in 2016 and more than 1.7 million in 2017.
Currently, more than 200 enterprises in the republic use coal as fuel.
Tajikistan has over 4.3 billion tons of potential coal resources, of which 320.3 million tons are industrial reserves of high-calorie coal.
Until 2020, the government plans to increase coal production more than 80-fold – in order to provide not only all domestic needs but also to export coal abroad.
Coal mining in Tajikistan is a relatively cheap process, but its quality is low, which worsens the negative consequences for the environment from burning it. (AzerNews/Ukrainian metal)