Uzbekistan, Tashkent, Aug. 8 / Trend D.Azizov /
The Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine started constructing the open pit "Bessopantau", with a project cost of $60.1 million, a source at the plant said.
The interlocutor said that the combine plans for the preparations to be completed by late 2011 and to begin productions at the quarry in early 2012.
The designed capacity is about 15 million cubic meters of ore per year, planned for 2015.
Navoi Mining is one of the major gold producers in Central Asia. The plant is fully owned by the state. The main gold-ore base of the enterprise is the Muruntau field (Central Kyzyl Kum).
The plant includes two gold extracting plants - GMZ-2 in Zeravshan and GMZ-3 in Uchkuduk. NMMC is an exclusive operator for the extraction, enrichment, and export of uranium in Uzbekistan.
Processing of uranium is carried out on the hydrometallurgical plant GMZ-1 in Navoi.