Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Sept. 24 / Trend D. Azizov /
Uzbekistan can provide the Australian Rio Tinto with a copper exploration license in Namangan in 2012, a representative of the Uzbek State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources told Trend on Friday.
The representative said that at present, a draft government resolution has been prepared to approve Rio Tinto's participation in the project.
It is expected that the document will be signed in October. After this document is signed, a license agreement will be signed with the Australian company. A license will be issued.
It was stressed that Rio Tinto may start exploration work at the end of this year.
It was previously reported that the Australian company filed a request to the Uzbek State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources to obtain a license for the cooper exploration in the promising area of Gava in Namangan in 2011.
Rio Tinto Director General on the Central Asian region Chris Welton last year stated that the company may invest up to $100 million in cooper exploration in Uzbekistan.
The company planned to get a license for five years until late 2011 to begin exploration in the spring of 2012.
Almalyk MMC is the only copper producer in Uzbekistan.