UZBEKISTAN'S MINING INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

Uzbekistan, located in Central Asia, covers an area of approximately 449 thousand square kilometers and is home to a population of 38 million. The country shares its borders with five landlocked countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and Turkmenistan. The geography of Uzbekistan features diverse landscapes and abundant natural resources, which make it a favorable country for the mining industry. Regions like Navoi, Tashkent, Samarkand, and Surkhandarya are particularly rich in minerals. Various mineral resources including gold, silver, platinum group metals, copper, uranium, lead, molybdenum, tungsten, manganese, lithium, chromium, nickel, tin, tantalum, niobium, cobalt, scandium, germanium, rhenium, oil, and natural gas have been discovered within Uzbekistan’s territory.

Uzbekistan holds a prominent position globally in terms of reserves of strategic minerals, ranking among the top ten countries worldwide. Notably, the country ranks 5th in gold reserves, 12th in uranium reserves, 8th in copper reserves, and 4th in potassium salt reserves.

In 2023, comprehensive reforms were undertaken to enhance the legislative framework in mining industry and geology sector. These reforms aimed to promote and expand geological exploration works, develop mineral raw material bases, and actively attract investments to the industry. Key components of these reforms included:

- a system for categorizing geologically underexplored areas into blocks, following international standards, was introduced;

- the practice of issuing permits for geological exploration and mining work in areas with a high level of exploration and production of minerals through an auction has been introduced;

- in accordance with the appeal of investors, the right to use the subsoil was established by applying the principle of "first come, first served" in the areas that are not explored or underexplored (do not have confirmed reserves);

- land plots allocated for conducting geological exploration works were exempted from land tax;

- permits for the use of subsoil resources will be issued through the “one-stop shop" principle via the state services electronic platform;

- legal entities engaged in geological prospecting activities were granted exemptions from periodic customs fees for the temporary importation of specialized equipment essential for prospecting throughout the phases of exploration, assessment, and exploitation of deposits;

- the importation of equipment, materials, technical resources, and specialized equipment not manufactured in the Republic of Uzbekistan was exempted from customs duties.