Uzbekistan to boost copper production

TASHKENT, June 29 (Xinhua) -- Uzbekistan plans to increase annual copper production from the current 148,000 tons to 400,000 tons in five years to meet growing global demand, Uzbek president's press service said Tuesday.

The central Asian nation's copper production has already increased by almost 1.5 times in the past five years and reached 148,000 tons in 2020, bringing 2.5 billion U.S. dollars of revenue from its export, the press service said.

The figures were revealed during a government meeting with the participation of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who unveiled the plans to create a copper industry cluster and introduce modern technologies in the sector involving leading international companies.

Mirziyoyev also highlighted the importance of producing value-added products rather than exporting copper as a raw material, the press service said.

Uzbekistan currently exports about 60 percent of copper as raw material.

Demand for copper has been growing worldwide due to the growth in the production of electric vehicles, electrical engineering and the development of renewable energy. Enditem