Uzbekistan’s Navoiyuran state company has launched its new uranium mine, Kizilkok, located in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan, World Nuclear News reports.
“Pilot industrial operations at the deposit began in December 2024, and after two years of active work, the company has reached the commercial production stage,” Navoiyuran CEO Jamal Fayzullaev was quoted as saying in an article in the World Nuclear Association (WNA) trade publication.
The start of production at the deposit is another step in implementing the Uzbek state-owned uranium company’s strategy to increase production, as per the state program, by 2030. In 2025, Navoiyuran mined 7,000 tonnes of uranium, significantly exceeding the 5,200 tonnes mined in 2024.
The Kizilkok uranium deposit is projected to have a lifespan of 15 years, with its average annual production during this period peaking at 1,200 tonnes of uranium per year. Kizilkok, as a promising area, includes four licensed blocks—Amantau (in the northwest), Myutenbay (in the northeast), Kizilkok (in the southeast), and Yuzhny (in the south).
The Kizilkok deposit’s reserves are estimated at 9,400 tonnes, and its resources at 10,900 tonnes, making it the third-largest subsoil use asset in Navoiyuran’s portfolio, behind the Sugrali deposit (20,800 tonnes) and Uchkuduk (14,800 tonnes). Overall, the joint venture manages 43 uranium deposits and has a resource base of 151,100 tonnes of uranium, including approximately 96,600 tonnes of reserves.
The Kizilkok deposit will be developed using mini-reagent in-situ leaching (ISL) technology, which uses gaseous oxygen as an oxidizing agent. It should be noted that the total cost of production (TCC) of Navoiyuran is reaching $27 per pound of uranium oxide. By comparison, Kazatomprom’s C1 cash cost in 2025 exceeded $18 per pound.
It should be noted that due to the growth of uranium production in Uzbekistan, as in Kazakhstan, there is an increasing demand for sulfuric acid, which is why Uzbek exports of it stopped several years ago. It was previously reported that a sulfuric acid plant with a capacity of 500,000 tons will be launched in Uzbekistan this year, due to a shortage of local sulfuric acid produced as a byproduct of metallurgical production.
However, the new plant will require large volumes of processed sulfur, which cannot be fully met by Uzbek oil and gas, necessitating the import of sulfur from Kazakhstan and other countries. As is known, due to geopolitical conflicts, the price of sulfur in some places worldwide currently reaches USD 500 per ton, which could increase the cost of Uzbek uranium production as production increases.
In 2025, Navoiyuran’s revenue was $1,112 million, and adjusted net profit increased to $472 million. By comparison, Kazatomprom Group’s sales last year were 1.8 trillion tenge, or approximately $3.9 billion at the current exchange rate, with sales volumes of 13,700 tons, and profit of 806 billion tenge, or approximately $1.7 billion. Navoiyuran’s average selling price in 2025 was $69.50 per pound of uranium oxide, while Kazatomprom’s was $65.32 per pound.
This material is generated using AI from original article in Russian.
