Tashkent, Uzbekistan, July 9
By Demir Azizov- Trend:
Uzbekistan's Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine (AMMC) has started to install the production equipment - three ball mills - as part of the project for reconstruction of the copper concentrator, AMMC told Trend.
The project's cost is $117.68 million.
It was earlier reported that AMMC plans to complete the project by late 2015. It is planned to construct a new ore concentration complex within the receiving hopper with a jaw crusher, ground-level storage for coarsely crushed ore, and install an automated conveyor complex comprising of nine conveyers stretching 1.2 kilometers, two ball mills and etc.
The project's implementation will increase the processing capacity by 7.8 million metric tons of ore per year. Currently, the design capacity of the crushing section is 29 million metric tons of ore per year.
The project is financed with the loans allocated by Uzbekistan's Reconstruction and Development Fund ($80 million), Uzbek Mortgage Bank - Ipoteka Bank - ($32 million) and owns funds of AMMC.
The contract for the development of work design documents and technological regulations on the technological part of the project, supply of equipment, contract supervision and execution of commissioning is being carried out by Russian Tyazhmash JSC (Syzran). The total cost of this work is $73.9 million.
The need for increasing the capacity of the concentrator is related to reconstruction of the Kalmakir mine by AMMC, as well as the expansion and reconstruction of Sary-Cheku quarry - the main raw material base of AMMC.
AMMC completed the implementation of the project for reconstruction and expansion of Kalmakir mine in late 2012. The cost of the project was $122.2 million. As a result, the ore mining there increased by 4 million metric tons per year.
The project was financed with the loans from Uzbekistan's Reconstruction and Development Fund ($63 million), local commercial banks and funds of AMMC.
AMMC completed the first stage of reconstruction of the copper concentrator in early 2014. The cost of the project totaled $20 million. As a result, the ore processing capacity increased by 800,000 metric tons annually.
AMMC is one of the largest producers of non-ferrous metals in Central Asia and the only copper producer in Uzbekistan. It accounts for about 90 percent of silver production and 20 percent of the gold production in the country. The plant consists of two mining companies, two concentrating plants and two metallurgical plants with its own infrastructure.
Edited by CN