Uzbekistan, Tashkent, June 10, Trend, D.Azizov /
Uzbekistan decreased coal mining by 13.8 percent to 1.172 million tons in January-May 2010 compared to the same period of 2009, the official statistics say.
For example, brown coal mining decreased by 13.2 percent - to 1,158 million tons, bituminous coal mining decreased in 1.9 times - to 14,200 tons.
In 2009, coal mining in Uzbekistan decreased by 11 percent - to 3.2 million tons.
Coal mining in Uzbekistan is carried out in three fields: Angren, Shargun and Baysun. Coal is mined in the country mostly by open method. Only a small part is mined by underground mining method.
At present JSC "Uzbekugol" conducts an industrial development of the Angren brown coal field in the Tashkent region - the largest in Uzbekistan - with the explored coal reserves in the amount of 1,9 billion tons.
According to experts, Uzbekistan's need for the solid fuel is about 4 million tons annually. The main consumer of coal in the country is the company "Uzbekenergo" - thermal power plants operating on solid fuel, which consume annually about 3 million tons of solid fuel.
According to information, in early 2010, Chinese company China Coal Energy won a tender to modernize coal mine "Angren" worth $154.4 million, which envisages construction of hree new and upgrading two existing conveyor lines with transfer to flow and cyclic-flow technology with total capacity of 38 million cubic meters of overburden operations per year by the end of 2011.
Project will be financed through a loan from China Eximbank worth $120,4 million allocated by the Uzbek Government within the credit line of the Chinese Government to the the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries and the own funds of "Uzbekugol" worth $ 34 million .
Upgrading of the section "Angren" will allow by 2012 to increase coal mining to 6,4 million tons from 3.2 million tons in 2009.
The Uzbek Government adopted a program of modernization, technical and technological re-equipment of the coal industry before the end of 2012 worth about $ 400 million. Including foreign investments in the modernization of coal mining is planned at $ 250 million.
Implementation of projects of technical and technological re-equipment of the coal industry will ensure coal mining growth from 3.6 million tons in 2008 to 8.33 million tons by 2013.