Progress in geology reviewed

On April 27, 2020, President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting to review the work carried out in geology and upcoming tasks in the sphere.

Over the past three years, important decisions have been made on reforming the sphere, budget allocations have tripled. A third of the equipment was updated, more than 850 advanced technologies were introduced.

As a result, it became possible to carry out exploration work on 17 types of minerals, while previously they were carried out on 3 types. The number of elements detected in the ore composition reached 40 with the previous twelve. In 2019, the first modern aerogeophysical complex in Central Asia was launched, innovative methods for the study of mineral resources were introduced.

In addition, the application of the Global-Mapper, Erdas, ENVI programs that are widely used in the world and based on modern geoinformation technologies, as well as high-resolution satellite images from Landsat, Aster satellites, was launched at the initial stage of geological work. These methods make it possible to obtain with high accuracy information about deep-seated layers and to cover vast areas with research. Most importantly, it saves time and money.

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

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

Issues of expanding geological exploration, attracting foreign investment in the sphere were considered at the meeting.

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, it is important to continue the process of updating the technical base. For example, it is possible to increase the drilling depth from 800 meters to 1200, as well as increase productivity by 1.7 times, through the use of modern equipment.

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

During the discussion of the issue of increasing the investment attractiveness of the sphere, the Head of the state noted the need for implementing international standards. The importance of training geologists in preparation of data according to JORC standards, with involvement of foreign experts, was noted.

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

Geology plays an important role in finding water resources in agriculture. Special equipment for water well construction will be delivered to each district.

At the meeting, the task was set to drill 70 wells in two months to provide water for 3 thousand hectares of land. The need was noted for introducing an online monitoring system for water flow in 200 new wells this year 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 development of geology. In this regard, tasks for geological exploration by the end of the year of 2.5 thousand square kilometers of land by satellite images and 5 thousand square kilometers by aerogeophysical method were defined.

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

In accordance with them, the University of Geological Sciences is being organized, the curriculum of which is being developed based on the best practices of Saint Petersburg Mining University and other foreign higher education institutions.

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

Responsible persons reported on the work carried out in the sphere and plans for the execution of new orders.

UzA