DUSHANBE, July 13, Asia-Plus -- By 2015, increase in the volume of production of output in Tajikistan’s metallurgical sector will have been provided due to enhancement of use of existing capacities of Altyn-Topkan mining, Adrasman and Anzob ore refineries, Isojon Qurbonov, the head of the mining industry department of the Ministry of Industry, remarked in his interview with Asia-Plus.   

According to him, rare metals deposits will have been developed considerably by this time.  Besides, Tajikistan intends to increase production of aluminum 1.5 times by 2015.  

Tajik gold-mining enterprises such as Aprelevka, Zarafshon and Darvoz as well as the Yakhsu gold deposits are also supposed to increase mining and processing of ores and manufacturing of the finished product.  

 There more than 400 prospected deposits in Tajikistan; of them, more than 100 are already being processed.  More than 50 types of various minerals, including gold, silver, lead, antimony, mercury precious and semi-precious stones, are being mined at these deposits.       

            “Tajikistan is rich in various natural resources and stands in one of leading places in the word in reserves of them,” said the Asia-Plus interlocutor, “It is enough to say that Tajikistan has one of the largest reserves of lead-zinc ores in Central Asia.  For example, the prospected reserves of the Koni Mansur and Altyn-Topkan deposits amount to more than one billion tons of lead-zinc ores.”  

Mr. Qurbonov has also noted that Tajikistan stands in first place among CIS states in terms of antimony reserves and third place in Asia following China and Thailand.