Uzbekistan, Tashkent, November 17 /Trend, D. Azizov /
Tashkent region's town Almalyk-based Almalyk ore mining enterprise in 2012 will begin building a new, $98.2 million-worth copper kiln at a copper smeltery, the enterprise reported on Thursday.
In accordance with technical and economic calculations by the enterprise's specialists, the production capacity of the new automatic copper kiln will be 17,000 tons of copper per year. The kiln is likely to be put into operation at the end of 2014.
The project will be financed at the price of $60 million as a loan of the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, $25 million as own assets of the enterprise, and $13.2 million as loans of Uzbek banks.
As reported earlier, the enterprise currently completes the $98.7 million project of reconstruction and expansion of ore mine Kalmakyr, which is the enterprise's key raw material base.
Ore mine Kalmakyr located at the place of copper-porphyritic mine of the same name has been explored since 1954. Its designed annual production capacity is 27 million tons of ore, with the annual volume of overburden operations of 12 million cubic meters. The ore mine's geological reserves, as of January 1, 2007, were estimated at 6.15 million tons of copper and 98,400 tons of molybdenum. Apart from copper, the industrial value of ore mine Kalmakyr comprises gold, silver, molybdenum, selenium, tellurium, and rhenium.
Ore extraction from the mine is expected to increase by 3.5 million tons a year as a result of reconstruction works.
The project is financed at the price of $63 million as a loan of the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, $20 million as loans of Uzbek commercial banks, and $15.7 million as own assets of the enterprise.
Besides, the enterprise in 2013 plans to start implementing a $45 million-worth project to explore off-balance ores at mine Kalmakyr with the aim of increase of copper production by two-three percent in the near-term future.
The enterprise's raw material processing capacity will be increased by 4 million tons by 2016 as a result of use of additional raw materials under the project.
The project will be financed at the price of own assets of the enterprise.
The Almalyk ore mining enterprise is the only copper producer in Uzbekistan and one of the biggest nonferrous metals producers in Central Asia. The enterprise covers around 90 percent of silver production and 20 percent of gold production in Uzbekistan. The enterprise consists of two ore mining facilities, two processing plants, and two metallurgic factories with their own infrastructure.
The enterprise is authorized to develop copper-molybdenum and lead-zinc ore mines in the area of town Almalyk of the Tashkent region. The enterprise's raw materials base comprises copper-porphyritic ore mines Kalmakyr and Sary-Cheku (the Tashkent region) and lead-zinc-barite ore mine Uch-Kulach (the Jizak region).
The enterprise's production is valued at a total of more than $300 million per year. It is specialized in the production of refined copper (cathodes), metallic zinc, lead concentrate, etc. The enterprise exports about 60 percent of its total production, including 5 percent exported to CIS states.
In 2010, the enterprise extracted 30.1 million tons of copper ore and produced 86,300 tons of copperware, 51,100 tons of metallic zinc, and 382,100 tons of sulfuric acid.
In 2011, the enterprise plans to increase copper output by eight percent up to 90,000 tons.