“The resource-rich country is expanding mining and smelting of copper and other non-ferrous metals, making it very attractive to foreign partners. The country has huge business opportunities for suppliers of foreign equipment and know-how. Non-ferrous metallurgy occupies an important place in the list of priorities of the industrial policy of the government of Uzbekistan. Despite the fact that mining and smelting of non-ferrous metals is concentrated only in the Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine located in the Tashkent region, the company’s multi-billion dollar investment program is important,” the author of the article, Uwe Strohbach, writes. 
 
At the beginning of this year, the combine’s project portfolio amounted to 5.2 billion US dollars. As part of the government’s investment program for 2022-2026, investments in the amount of about 1.3 billion US dollars have been directed to projects by this time. 
 
The main part of the investments is intended for mining and beneficiation of copper-molybdenum ores in the new “Yoshlik” mine. The combine is preparing for the second stage of exploitation of this mine. The capacity of the processing plant is 50 million tons of copper-molybdenum ore. The annual production volume of copper cathode will be increased to 400,000 tons starting from 2028. 
 
It is noted that the creation of a copper cluster provides ample opportunities for foreign companies to do business. By implementing the project, the Government of Uzbekistan aims to ensure an effective value chain in the copper industry. Along with increasing ore processing capacity, this initiative will allow the plant to sell more copper products. In the medium term, the annual revenue is expected to reach 8 billion US dollars and more. This figure was 2.5 billion US dollars in 2020, the GTAI site writes.