Annual production capacity put at 1,200 tonnes
Uzbek state uranium company Navoiyuran has announced the start of mining at the Qizilkok deposit in the Navoi region of central Uzbekistan.
The company said in a statement that mineral resources are 10,900 tonnes of uranium, ore reserves are 9,400 tonnes of uranium and the project mine life is estimated at 15 years.
Qizilkok is the third-largest deposit in Navoiyuran’s portfolio after the Sugrali and Uchkuduk deposits and has further potential for expansion to the north, Navoiyuran said.
It is being developed using a low-reagent in-situ leaching (ISL) oxygen technology, which increases uranium recovery while reducing production costs by two to three times.
The International Atomic Energy Authority says ISL technology has environmental and safety advantages over conventional mining and milling.
Navoiyuran director-general Djamal Sabakhonovich Fayzullayev said pilot industrial operations at the deposit began in December 2024. He said the company’s strategy is in line with Uzbekistan’s state programme to expand uranium mining and processing volumes through 2030.
In 2025, Navoiyuran’s production reached 7,000 tonnes of natural uranium. “The Qizilkok deposit, with an annual production capacity of 1,200 tonnes of uranium, will play a key role both in supporting future production growth and in contributing to regional economic development,” Fayzullayev said.
Navoiyuran says it is the sixth-largest uranium producer globally, operating 43 uranium deposits with a mineral resource base of 151,100 tonnes of uranium.
Uzbekistan has roughly 139,000 tonnes of identified reserves and is the world’s fifth-largest producer and supplier. It has plans to develop four new deposits in the coming years.
Last month Uzbekistan signed a cooperation agreement with Russia that will see Moscow build an “integrated” nuclear power station consisting of small- and large-scale reactors in the central Asian country that will be the first of its kind in the world.
