Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 26 December, coal mining began in Sariosiysky district of Surkhandarya region based on the investment project “Modernization of Shargunkomir JSC” and increasing the design capacity to 900,000 tons of coal per year using mechanized equipment unique in Central Asia technologies.

The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Mining and Geology of the Republic of Uzbekistan B. Islamov, Chairman of the Board of JSC "O’zbekiston temir yo’llari" Z. Narzullaev, Khakim of Surkhandarya region U. Kasymov, Khakim of the Sariosi region A. Donaev, Head of JSC "Shargunkumir" Kh. Abdullayev, company employees and media representatives.

In his congratulatory speech, the Minister of Mining and Geology spoke about the history of Shargunkumir JSC, noted the great attention paid to the coal industry in recent years, and the enormous contribution of coal mining to the development of the economy and energy sector of our country.

The mayor of Surkhandarya region emphasized that the discovery of a new field would be a unique gift for residents of Surkhandarya region, Sariosiysk district and the city of Shargun, as well as employees of Shargunkumir JSC.

Chairman of the Board of Uzbekistan Temir Yollari Zufar Narzullaev noted that in accordance with the resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan from 13 January 2017 No. PP-2727 “On measures to implement the investment project “Modernization of Shargunkumir JSC” with increasing the design capacity to 900 thousand tons of hard coal per year”, large-scale construction and repair work was carried out at the enterprise. He noted that old workshops were reconstructed and new workshops were built.

In this regard, Shargunkumir JSC signed a cooperation agreement with China Railway Tunnel Group Co., Ltd. and China Coal Technology & Engineering Group Corp on a major investment project for the modernization of Shargunkumir JSC. The total cost of the project was US$105.5 million.

The allocated funds provided for the modernization of the technical and technological base of the enterprise with the introduction of modern equipment with high productivity, as well as the modernization of production, which will increase the volume of coal production to 900 thousand tons per year. As a result, this will significantly reduce coal mining costs.

As you know, in January of this year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the presentation of projects aimed at expanding coal and uranium production, special attention was paid to the growing demand for energy capacity with the growth of the country’s economy and population.

To meet this demand, coal production from all sources has been expanded, and over the past five years, this figure has increased from 4 million tons to 5 million 300 thousand tons per year.

According to experts, our country has about 2 billion tons of coal reserves. The head of our state has set the task of effectively using this potential and consistently increasing production volumes.

During the opening, a presentation was held where information about the work done was presented. It was noted that during the modernization, 90% of the mining equipment was brought. At the same time, at the expense of the Uzbekistan Temir Yollari joint stock company, 23,998 meters of railway tracks were laid from the Shargunkumir joint stock company to the industrial site of adit No. 10.

The President indicated that there is an opportunity to further expand the production of high-quality coal through the development of the Shargun and Boysun mines. He emphasized the need to attract investors to the mines and implement new projects.

It is worth noting that over the past 5-6 years, production volume has increased by 52% as a result of ongoing work to develop the industry. This is confirmed by the annual growth of key indicators.

Today, the Shargunkumir joint-stock company under Uzbekistan Temir Yollari JSC is mining coal with ultra-high heat capacity of 40-50°, capable of melting iron, in quantity and quality from 5200 to 8100 kcal/kg. At the Shargun deposit alone, the balance reserves of coal amount to 33 million tons. Looking at the statistics, from 1958 to 2022, coal production was 9.3 million tons, while the highest coal production in history until today was 245,000 tons in 2019, 264,000 tons in 2020, 275,000 tons in 2021 and 282,000 tons in 2022. The increase in production volumes from year to year leads to an improvement in the financial situation of society and a reduction in the cost of coal production.