Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 2
By Fikret Dolukhanov – Trend:
Luxembourg-based IFG Metals & Mining, a division of IFG Capital Partners, will invest $300 million in creation of a tungsten cluster in Uzbekistan, the company's press service said.
The corresponding agreement has been concluded between IFG Metals & Mining and the State Committee on Geology and Mineral Resources of Uzbekistan.
The Luxembourg company received exclusive rights to conduct feasibility studies and development of seven tungsten deposits in Uzbekistan through creation of a cluster for production and processing of tungsten.
According to the information, the SUN Group investment company will also take part in the project.
IFG Metals & Mining will prepare a feasibility study for the Ingichka, Gussai, Sarykul, Kara-Tyube, Lyangar and Koytash fields, as well as for the Yakhton field.
The seven deposits will produce up to 5,700 tons of tungsten per year, or about 6 percent of total world production by 2024.
Preliminary geological studies show the presence of about 130,000 tons of tungsten oxide in the seven deposits with an average grade higher than in comparable projects.
The company noted that the costs of processing the deposits will be lower than in other countries, because of the favorable conditions for doing business in Uzbekistan.
IFG announced that it intends to build two mobile processing plants that will serve the fields. The company added that it will send all products for export to North America and the EU.
The first samples from the Yakhton field have already been sent abroad for metallurgical testing. First results are expected in the 4Q2018.
Tungsten is a brilliant light gray metal having the highest proven melting and boiling points. Tungsten is one of the heaviest, hardest and most refractory metals. In its pure form it is a silvery-white metal, similar to platinum, which can be easily forged and pulled into a thin thread at a temperature of about 1,600 degrees Celsius. The metal has a high stability in a vacuum.
The largest reserves of tungsten are located in Kazakhstan, China, Canada and the US. There are also deposits in Bolivia, Portugal, Russia, Uzbekistan and South Korea. The world production of tungsten is 49,000-50,000 tons per year. The main exporters of tungsten are China, South Korea and Austria.
The mineral and raw material resources of Uzbekistan are estimated at a value of $5.7 trillion.
Just over $1 trillion of them is the cost of the already explored reserves and the prepared deposits. At the same time, only 20 percent of the territory of Uzbekistan has been studied, and accordingly, there is a huge potential for discovering new deposits.
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