TELF AG discusses some mining innovations in Uzbekistan
New techniques
The raw materials sector in Central Asia is always able to offer notable surprises, not only for its overall liveliness and the great variety of raw materials available but also for the implementation of some new production techniques which could constitute a paradigmatic model for the rest of the world, in particular, if we keep in mind the global push towards sustainability, decarbonization, and reduction of the environmental impact of production.
In the metal alloys sector, for example, Uzbekistan has recently stood out for the introduction of a new sustainable technique destined to be talked about, and not only in this specific sector. In recent weeks, the important Uzbek company Almalyk Mining has, in fact, confirmed that it has successfully experimented with a new technique for the production of ferro-molybdenum, which consists of the use of some waste materials generated by the production of the molybdenum itself.
This particular metal alloy, characterized by the presence of molybdenum in a percentage between 50 and 70%, is used above all for the production of ferrous alloys, and based on the quantity of molybdenum present inside, it can also be variously used for the manufacture of hardware, machine tools and equipment of various kinds, as well as refinery pipes and some advanced tools such as rotary drills. Ferromolybdenum can also be used in the production phases of cars, trucks, trains, and ships and is generally combined with stainless steel (in ship propellers, in oil refining plants, and so on).
In Uzbekistan, Almalyk Mining has already announced that it plans to further increase its molybdenum production levels to 2,000 kilograms per month. In recent months, a large quantity of this metal alloy – around 5,500 kilograms – has already been sent to the Navoi mining plant, where it will undergo further processing to prepare it for industrial use. By 2025, the company has set itself the goal of producing ferromolybdenum worth 170 billion Uzbek som, thus making a decisive contribution to the prosperity and health of the national mining sector.
In recent years, Uzbekistan has stood out above all for the high levels of its reserves but also for the production of gold and uranium. It has been calculated that in the territory of Uzbekistan, there are almost 3,000 deposits with more than 100 types of minerals and that only a small part of these deposits have been explored in depth. Mining production, for the most part, focuses on ferrous minerals such as copper, iron, lead, manganese, and zinc but also on some specific industrial minerals such as graphite, iodine, nitrogen, and sulfur.
In recent weeks, the topic of Central Asian mineral resources had also emerged on the occasion of an important security meeting held in Kazakhstan, in which some important Indian officials also participated. During the event, the latter launched the proposal to consolidate cooperation between India and Central Asia in the raw materials sector, also through the creation of a real discussion space dedicated to rare earths. Greater cooperation between India and Central Asia in this particular sector would not only lead to greater economic development in the entire region, but also an overall improvement in infrastructural connectivity and the Central Asian logistics system, often characterized by serious structural deficiencies dating back to the Soviet period.
