Uzbekistan plans to double uranium production and increase output of critical metals to $2.7 billion
Uzbekistan plans to increase uranium production from 7,500 to 15,000 tons by 2030, and explored reserves up to 200,000 tons. The President instructed to expand geological exploration, launch new capacities, and reduce the use of sulfuric acid in production.
Uzbekistan intends to double uranium production and bring critical metal output to $2.7 billion
Uzbekistan plans to increase uranium production and expand the output of critical minerals and metals. These plans were presented to President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on November 5 during a presentation of projects by the "Navdiyuran" enterprise and the "Uzbek Technological Metals Plant."
According to data voiced at the meeting, global demand for critical minerals is growing by approximately 10% annually, whereas demand for traditional metals grows by an average of 1%.
The Uzbek Technological Metals Plant (TMK) currently manufactures products from five metals — tungsten, molybdenum, selenium, tellurium, and rhenium. The president instructed the development of 11 more types of products. These include nickel, cobalt, graphite, antimony, tin, manganese, platinum, vanadium, mercury, and copper.
By 2030, the production value of 16 types of critical raw materials should exceed $2.7 billion.
By the end of 2026, the plant intends to launch 12 investment projects, expand the line of locally manufactured products, and increase the output of high-purity selenium and tellurium.
Tungsten processing will become a separate focus area. Plans call for attracting $1.1 billion in investments into relevant projects to bring the value of manufactured products to nearly $2.2 billion by 2030.
To achieve this, there are also plans to develop new deposits, expand geological exploration, and implement modern raw material processing technologies.
The presentation also reviewed the development of the state enterprise "Navdiyuran." According to estimates presented to the president, global demand for uranium has grown by 15–20% in recent years and could increase by another 28% by 2030.
In 2026, the enterprise plans to expand geological exploration and drilling, launch additional units for extracting uranium from solutions, and create 250 jobs.
Providing production with chemical reagents, including technical sulfur, sulfuric acid, and nitric acid, was discussed separately. The president instructed a more active implementation of technologies that allow for a reduction in the use of sulfuric acid. By 2030, the share of alternative reagents is intended to reach 40%.
As a result, uranium production is planned to increase from 7.5 thousand tons in 2026 to 15 thousand tons in 2030. Simultaneously, explored reserves are expected to rise to 200 thousand tons.
In June 2026, the president had already reviewed plans for the development of critical mineral production. At that time, intentions were announced to implement 120 projects worth a total of $4.2 billion between 2026 and 2030. Priorities included the processing of tungsten and molybdenum, the construction of new production facilities, the development of the "Metals of the Future" industrial park in Chirchik, and the creation of a research laboratory to study critical minerals.
Furthermore, back in March at a meeting on the development of the mining industry, the task was set to bring uranium production to 15 thousand tons by 2030.