Uzbekistan, as a country rich in, natural resources, is attracting increasing attention on the global stage. The reserves of gold, copper, uranium, and rare metals play a decisive role not only in the development of the national economy but also at the global level. In subsequent years, large deposits have been discovered in our country, modern technologies have been implemented, and international cooperation is being expanded. The geological exploration industry is a sector that serves the interests of the people, and it occupies an important place in the development of the investment climate in our country, in ensuring a stable resource base for strategic industries, and in the training of highly qualified personnel.
In an interview with the Minister of Mining and Geology, Bobur Farkhodovich ISLAMOV, we will take a detailed look at achievements in this field, international cooperation, innovative technologies, and future prospects.
– Uzbekistan has rich mineral resources, ranging from gold and copper to uranium and rare earth elements. Geological exploration plays an important role in supplying raw materials to strategic sectors of the economy. What important discoveries have been made in recent years? Which projects have already reached the stage of industrial-scale development?
– In recent years, a huge number of new mines were discovered and brought into industrial mineral extraction. These include Pistali, Chumauk, Balpantov, Besopantov, Tomdibulok, the Turbay gold mine, the Chinorsoy polymetallic mine, Yoshlik 1, the Upper Zie copper mine, Jongeldi, Northern Bukinoy, the Oktov uranium mine, the Lashkerek silver mine, and the Noruda mine.
Today, these deposits are mined by our large mining and metallurgical complexes, while domestic and foreign investors have been fully involved in the development of ore deposits.
– Experts estimate that the share of the mineral and raw materials complex in the volume of Uzbekistan’s gross domestic product remains massive, and the geological exploration sector has a direct impact on the formation of the investment atmosphere. How do you assess the today’s contribution of the geological exploration sector to the country’s economy and what factors are able to significantly increase the investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan?
– Every year, thanks to the funds allocated from the state budget for geological exploration, reserves and resources of minerals are increased, and the funds spent are justified many times over, which we can see from the funds received from the realization of a single mineral mine and plots through auction.
As it is known, the field of geological exploration has a strategic importance in the economy of Uzbekistan. The industry provides a stable resource base for many sectors of industry. Therefore, activities in this sector directly affect the investment climate and create opportunities for the implementation of new projects.
The measures taken by the government of Uzbekistan have significantly improved the investment climate. Currently, foreign and domestic investors are enjoying a number of privileges and tax breaks for the industrial development of minerals and the conduct of geological exploration using modern methods and technologies.
In particular, the non-commercial discovery bonus levied for the right to mine minerals, as well as the signature bonus levied for the right to carry out activities for the detection and exploration of minerals, have been abolished. It has been established that land plots allocated for geological exploration are not subject to land tax. Special equipment and tools necessary for the search and geological work of Mines and not produced in our country are imported without customs duties. The new oil and gas wells would be tax-exempt for the first two years, and half the tax rate would be applied for the next three years. At the same time, the corresponding tax burdens have been reduced, in particular, tax rates for subsoil use, including up to 10 percent for oil and natural gas, up to 7 percent for gold and copper, up to 2.7 percent for tungsten and up to 8 percent for uranium.
All these factors made it easier for foreign and domestic investors to effectively implement new projects, increasing the investment attractiveness of our country.
– In the world, artificial intelligence is actively being implemented for 3D modeling of the earth’s subsoil, aerogeophysics, and data processing. What innovative technologies are currently being used in your practice and how rapidly are they being implemented in the conditions of Uzbekistan? How actively is the digitalization of geological exploration processes progressing?
– As a result of conditions created for the large-scale involvement of prestigious foreign companies, international experts, and advanced technologies in this field, as well as the enhancement of staff experience abroad, significant results can be achieved in predicting new geological objects by utilizing the high capabilities of artificial intelligence.
In global practice, the identification of geological objects based on the analogy method is widely used. In this method, a new area, which has not been well studied yet, is compared to another area (reference) that has similar geological conditions and was thoroughly studied previously. In our republic, areas covered with sedimentary layers form a fairly large territory, and therefore, the use of modern technologies for conducting geological surveys over such extensive territories in the short term is a very urgent issue today. Therefore, it is advisable to use modern airborne geophysical survey methods as a new innovative technology in the field of geology. These technologies are being implemented in our country jointly with advanced foreign companies and is widely used for conducting rapid geological surveys to study the direct geological characteristics of large areas and identify promising zones within a short period of time.
Moreover, in order to create an electronic base of the fund’s materials and digitize the geological work being carried out, in 2024 and subsequent years, in cooperation with the Ministry of digital technologies, the Geomonitoring portal was launched, which uses the state program for the development of mineral raw materials base, the scientific and technical Council, landowners, monitoring of state procurement, and a unified register of equipment and vehicles It uses software from ArcGIS, Micromain, Geobank, Leapfrog Geo, GlobalMapper. The Monitoring system was integrated with Uzbekkosmos and cadastral agencies and the tax committee.
A national program for processing all geological data using artificial intelligence is being developed. As a result, a detailed model of potential areas for gold and other types of minerals is created, on the basis of which promising areas are allocated.
– Nowadays, geological exploration is often becoming a field of transnational projects and mutual investments. With which countries and companies have strategic partnerships been established? What projects within the framework of international cooperation are planned to be developed in the near future? What projects are planned to develop in the near future within the framework of international cooperation?
– In the current era of globalization and innovation, Uzbekistan is consistently striving to develop active international cooperation in the field of geological exploration and mineral resources, to strengthen strategic partnership. In this direction, our country has established effective relations with many advanced foreign companies. In particular, a joint venture with the leading French company Orano Mining has been established, with projects based on modern technologies in the extraction and processing of uranium. Furthermore, in cooperation with large industrial companies of the people’s Republic of China, a number of projects for the development of geological exploration and mineral deposits are being carried out at an accelerated pace. Strategic partnerships are also being consistently expanded with sister countries such as Turkey and Azerbaijan. Constant dialogue and consultations on the implementation of transnational projects have been established with neighboring countries. Such international cooperation serves not only economic growth, but also to strengthen sustainable development and regional integration.
18/08/2025 
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