Uzbekistan plans to double uranium production

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev made the comments during a presentation on the priority tasks for 2026 and future plans of Uzbekistan's state enterprise for critical minerals and technological metals, Uzbek Technological Metals Plant JSC, and Navoiyuran. 

The president was told that demand for uranium raw materials in the world market has increased by 15-20% in recent years, and is expected to grow by a further 28% by 2030. It is "of particular importance" for Uzbekistan to increase its volume of production, develop new deposits, increase production efficiency and ensure stable supplies of resources needed by the uranium industry. 

"To this end, this year it is planned to expand geological exploration and technological drilling, develop production infrastructure, put into operation additional sorption units and create 250 new jobs," Mirziyoyev was told, according to a report of the meeting on the presidential website. 

Navoiyuran is planning to increase the volume of uranium production from 7,500 tonnes this year to 15,000 tonnes by 2030, and to increase the volume of explored reserves to 200,000 tonnes, the president was told.

Measures are being taken to strengthen cooperation between domestic industrial enterprises and increase the supply of reagents such as sulphur, sulphuric and nitric acids. The president was told that Uzbekistan is planning to increase the use of alternative reagents to sulphuric acid - a vital chemical in the in-situ recovery of uranium - to reach 40% by 2030.

According to the president's website, at the end of the presentation, he directed the "responsible persons" to ensure the timely implementation of investment projects, strengthen the mineral resource base, launch new technological capacities, increase the output of high value-added products and increase exports.

The meeting with the president came shortly after Navoiyuran published its financial results for the first six months of 2026, during which the company said it delivered strong financial performance, supported by higher natural uranium sales volumes and an increase in the average realised uranium price. 

According to information from World Nuclear Association, Uzbekistan is the fifth largest producer of uranium in the world: the 4,000 tonnes it produced in 2024 place it behind Australia (4,598 tonnes) but ahead of Russia (2,738 tonnes).

The country's uranium mining history goes back to the early 1950s. In-situ recovery methods, in which uranium is mined by dissolving and recovering it via wells, have been in use in Uzbekistan since the 1960s, and since the mid-1990s, all of Uzbekistan's uranium production has been produced in this way.

In April, commercial production of natural uranium began at the Qizilkok deposit, which is the third-largest deposit in Navoiyuran's portfolio, with a planned annual production capacity of 1,200 tonnes and an estimated mine life of 15 years. The deposit is being developed using oxygen-based in-situ leaching technology.