One of them implies the launch of the production of 10,000 tones of potassium hydroxide per year.

The Plant is fairly seen as the industry’s flagship in Kashkadarya region. Over the past five years it has produced more than 900,000 tons of the first class potassium chloride and exported about 600,00o tones. The preparation for the implementation of the new project is currently underway to expand the production capacity and produce the product which is highly demanded by the domestic industry.

Potassium hydroxide is used in the manufacture of various household chemicals and some pharmaceuticals, as well as for disinfecting of wastewater. It will give way to active development of alkaline battery manufacturers being an integral part of them, and provide the fast-growing chemical and rubber industry with necessary feedstock.

The second stage of processing plant was completed last year with the involvement of Chinese partners. That has allowed increasing the production volumes and creating new jobs. The Russian company of ZUMK Engineering has been partnering the construction of a mining complex with the annual production capacity of 1.4 million tons of ore, as well as facilities of external power supply and the cableway, which, having almost 30 kilometers in length, is considered the world's longest in the distance between the pillars. The implementation of these projects would bring the annual production capacity of potash fertilizers up to 600,000 tones, and ore production - to 2.1 million tons.

“Previously, potash fertilizers were imported from abroad for the foreign currency. The launch of the Plant has met the needs of the domestic market, and allowed exports. Today, we export fertilizers to China, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Armenia, Moldova, Turkey, Angola, Ukraine and several other countries”, said the plant’s chief engineer Rahmat Usarov. “Previously, the mining complex extracted the ore with the assistance of foreign specialists, while since last year this work is completely carried out by the local manpower.”

Another promising project comes to the recycling of production waste and producing technical salt on its basis. It is expected that it will fully meet the needs of domestic enterprises in the future.

(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)