27.04.2020

On April 27, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting to analyze the work carried out in geology and define the tasks ahead.

Over the past three years, important decisions have been made to radically reform the sphere, budget allocations to it have tripled. A third of the equipment has been updated, more than 850 advanced technologies been introduced.

As a result, it became possible to carry out exploration works for 17 types of minerals, while previously they were carried out on 3 types. The number of elements detected in the ore composition reached 40, whereas previously there had been twelve. In 2019, Central Asia’s first modern airborne geophysical complex was launched; innovative methods for the study of mineral resources were introduced.

In addition, Global Mapper, Erdas, ENVI programs widely used in the world began to be applied at the initial stage of geological works, building on the latest geographic information technologies, as well as high-resolution satellite images from Landsat, Aster satellites. These methods make it possible to obtain – with high accuracy – information about deep-seated layers and to cover vast areas with research. Crucially, it saves time and money.

The monitoring and maintenance systems of groundwater cadastre have been improved. Devices for automatic remote measurement of groundwater parameters were installed in 250 observation wells.

This year, 1.6 trillion soums were allocated for geological exploration in order to consistently continue reforms in the field.

At today’s meeting, issues of expanding geological prospecting, attracting foreign investment in the field were also considered.

The necessity of increasing the resources of gold and silver, reserves of copper and 8 types of non-metallic mineral resources by the end of the year was emphasized. To do this, the process of updating the technical base ought to be continued. For example, through the use of cutting-edge equipment, it is possible to increase the drilling depth from 800 meters to 1,200, and boost productivity 1.7 times.

In this regard, the President instructed to ensure the modernization of 385 units of geophysical, drilling, mining and laboratory equipment this year. The task was set to explore 16 promising hydrocarbon sites by the end of year and confirm the volume of reserves in 23 new fields.

During the discussion of the issue of bolstering the investment attractiveness of the sphere, the head of state pointed out the need to implement international standards. The importance of training geologists in the preparation of data in line with JORC standards, with the involvement of foreign specialists, was noted.

Instructions were given on attracting investors to 20 fields ready for development and elaborating investment projects for other promising sites.

Geology plays an important role in finding water for agricultural land. Special machinery for water well construction will be delivered to each district.

At the meeting, Shavkat Mirziyoyev urged the executives to drill 70 wells in two months to provide water for 3 thousand hectares of land. The need was stressed for introducing this year an online monitoring system for water flow in 200 new wells and water level in 400 wells, as well as creating an interactive groundwater map.

The role of fundamental, innovative and applied research is important in the development of geology. In this respect, the tasks of geological exploration, by the end of the year, of 2.5 thousand square kilometers of land from satellite images and 5 thousand square kilometers of the airborne geophysical method were defined.

In his Address to the Oliy Majlis on January 24 this year and at a meeting with scientists on January 31, the head of state outlined a number of promising tasks for the development of scientific potential in geology.

In accordance with them, the University of Geological Sciences is being established, whose curriculum is developed on the basis of the best practices of St. Petersburg Mining University and other foreign educational and research institutions.

At today’s meeting, instructions were given to open Geological Museum at the newly created university, to organize the museum’s activities in close connection with the educational process.

Responsible officials reported on the work carried out in the field and plans for the execution of new objectives.