Uzbekistan is launching a large-scale program to develop gold deposits in Karakalpakstan. At a meeting in Nukus, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev instructed officials to create a full-fledged mining and processing cluster there. The groundwork has already been laid: Chinese investors have launched a plant at the Urusoy deposit and are preparing a second project at Zengibobo. But without a serious boost in geological exploration, the plans risk staying on paper.
The region’s key problem is poor subsoil exploration. Geological surveys have covered only a fifth of Karakalpakstan’s territory. That’s why the president gave officials just one month to reassess reserves and step up exploration work. Without full-scale studies, the cluster won’t get off the ground even with substantial foreign investment.
The first practical step has already been taken. In July 2026, Chinese company Dji An Tai Int launched a gold-extraction plant at the Urusoy deposit in the Karauzak district. Investment totaled $33 million, creating 320 jobs. Across an area of 200 hectares, about four tonnes of gold have been identified. Once it reaches design capacity, the plant will be able to process up to 1,000 tonnes of ore per day and produce more than 500 kilograms of metal per year.
A second project is planned at the Zengibobo deposit in the Karauzak district, in the mountainous Sultanuvays zone. The plant is estimated to cost $20 million, with the joint venture Voris China as the customer. Planned annual output is 15,390 tonnes of gold-bearing ore and 133,280 tonnes of porphyrite. The investor’s name has not yet been disclosed.
The scale of the plan requires workforce development. About a thousand jobs are expected to be created, which would be a significant boost for a region with a limited labor market.
Gold remains one of the pillars of Uzbekistan’s mining industry. In 2025, the country produced 118.4 tonnes of the metal. By 2030, the target has been raised to 175 tonnes. The main production burden currently falls on the Navoi and Almalyk mining and metallurgical combines, but new deposits are expected to provide additional growth.
Karakalpakstan is becoming a testing ground for a new model of gold mining development — one built on foreign capital, accelerated exploration, and cluster organization. Success will depend on how quickly the gaps in geological knowledge can be closed and scattered projects turned into a unified production system.
Source: @nerzhavey
Image: Press service of JSC “NGMK”
