OREANDA-NEWS. December 05, 2012. Uzbekugol (Uzbek Coal) open joint stock company will direct money to modernization of mining and transportation till the end of 2014, RIA Novosti reported quoting the source in the Uzbek Government.

The report said that the government entrusted the company by the end of 2012 to prepare feasibility study of the project on modernization of technologic fleet till 2014.

Within the project, it is planned to replace 70 units of equipment – trucks, mobile crushing facility, combines, loading machines and conveyors.

The project will be financed due to own resources of Uzbekugol, Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan, and loans of Uzbek banks.

Uzbekistan plans to modernize coal industry and expand coal production from 2.28 million tonnes expected in 2012 to 17.2 million tonnes in 2021.

Mining of brown coal will grow by 3.9 times to 16.3 million tonnes by 2021, while mining of coal – 9 times to 900,000 tonnes. At the same time, share of coal in fuel-energy balance of Uzbekistan will jump from 3.9% to 12%.

Uzbekugol produces 98% of coal in Uzbekistan. It mines coal from Angren brown coal mine in Tashkent region with explored reserves of coal for 1.9 billion tonnes. Sharguncoal mines Baisun and Shargun coal fields in Surkhandarya regions. Its reserves make up 45.8 million tonnes of coal.