A Chinese investor has identified 4 tons of gold reserves across 200 hectares at the Urusay deposit in Karauzyak district of Karakalpakstan after investing $33 million in the project, including investments and technology, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev has 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 had invested $30 million in developing a quartzite deposit in Beruni district and plans to establish crystalline silicon production, with exports worth $25 million a year. According to him, one ton of crystalline silicon costs $5,500 on the global market. (UzDaily)