Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Dec. 11 /Trend's D. Azizov/
Perm Oil Engineering Company (POEK) completed the delivery of the second batch of equipment for uranium deposit mining in accordance with a 2012 contract to the Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC), a major producer of gold and uranium in Uzbekistan.
As reported, the Perm based company won the tender announced by NMMC late last year. The company fulfilled two contracts to supply equipment to NMMC for a total cost of half a million dollars in May, 2012.
In August, POEK supplied 920 sets of locks, including safes, used to connect drill pipes in drilling string at locations with complicated drilling conditions. The locks made by POEK will be used during the extraction by underground leaching method.
The second batch included 105 drill collar and kellies, which constitute the bulk of the drill string.
The total cost of the equipment supplied by POEK under the two contracts amounted to 56.5 million rubles, 42 million of which are the cost of the second contract.
POEK has been manufacturing products for oil companies and the chemical, nuclear and aviation industries since 1993. Cooperation between POEK, Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combine began in 2009. Earlier, POEK manufactured drill pipes for Navoi Mining and Metallurgy Combine.
As previously reported, the NMMC has a monopoly on the extraction, refining and export of uranium. Currently, the structure of the uranium industry NMMC includes hydrometallurgical plant N1 (MMP-1) in Navoi and three mining enterprises.
According to the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources, the proven and estimated uranium reserves have hit 185,800 tons.
Currently NMMC is implementing a program to modernize the production of uranium, providing the expansion of existing production and processing facilities, the renewal of production equipment, and the construction of new mines worth $165 million. The program is funded through NMMC 's own funds, the state budget and loans from Uzbek banks.
Uzbekistan does not consume uranium products. All of the produced uranium is exported.