TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, November 23. Uzbekistan plans to increase uranium production to 10,500 tons by 2030 by intensifying geological exploration and attracting investors, Trend reports.
As per data provided by the Euroasian Development Bank (EDB), in order to attract investments, Uzbekistan lifted all restrictions on the publication of information on reserves, uranium mining, and the financial statements of Navoiuran, the Uzbek state uranium mining company, as well as reducing the royalty rate for uranium mining from 10 percent to 8 percent.
According to EDB analysts, increased uranium output will also assist Uzbekistan in providing fuel for its own nuclear power station, which is slated to be completed in 2033 in collaboration with the Russian Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation.
Meanwhile, in November 2022, Uzbekistan's State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources, Uzbekistan's Navoiuran state firm, and the French Orano signed a trilateral deal.
The document provides for the intensification of joint work on the extraction and processing of uranium, as well as building an industrial chain for the production of nuclear fuel.
Moreover, Nurlikum Mining, a joint venture for the exploration and production of uranium in the Navoi region, established by Orano and the State Committee for Geology, has been operating in Uzbekistan since December 2019.