Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Nov 8 /Trend D.Azizov/
Uzbekistan intends to create a complex on iron ore production with a capacity of 14.7 million tons of ore a year, State Committee on Geology told Trend on Thursday.
The source noted that it is planned to create the complex based on iron ore deposit Tebinbulak (Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan, north-west of the country), opened in 1937.
It is planned to implement the project on Tebinbulaka development in order to create raw material base of Uzbek Metallurgical Plant (JSC "Uzmetkombinat", Tashkent region), which accounts for over 90 percent of steel products in the country.
To date, the field was not developed due to high investment costs.
Currently the exploratory work on the deposit is being completed to clarify its reserves. Predicted resources of the deposit are 3.5 billion tons of titanium-magnetite iron ore.
At the same time the search of the best options for opening and processing of the deposit is conducted.
The final cost of the project will depend on the chosen option. The preliminary cost is estimated at $1.4 billion.
The project will be financed at own expense and through attracting foreign investment.
Uzmetkombinat is the only ferrous metallurgy factory in Central Asia working with scrap metal. It was commissioned in 1956. Earlier it processed scrap metal.