Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company (NMMC), the world’s fourth-largest gold producer and the largest gold miner in Central Asia, says it is moving forward with the expansion of the Northeast Cycle and Flow Technology Complex and construction of a second conveyor line at its Muruntau mine.

Completion of these projects will increase capacity for transporting rock mass by 27 million cubic metres per year. The Northeast Complex, launched in 2021, is a catalyst for the further development of Muruntau, which NMMC claims to be the world’s largest open pit mine. At this complex, gold bearing ore is crushed and transported by conveyors, thereby reducing trucking costs.

A new conveyor, power lines, an extension of the tipping conveyor line by 1,100 m, and other auxiliary facilities are currently under construction. When full capacity is reached, these facilities will increase rock mass transportation volume by 15 million cubic metres per year. The complex expansion is projected to cost more than US$8.2 million.

NMMC is concurrently building a second conveyor line in the Muruntau open pit, with an estimated project cost of more than US$ 15.3 million. In addition to the existing line, which spans 1,877.4 m, a new line of over 1,000 m is to be completed. At full capacity, the lines will transport up to 12 million cubic metres of rock mass per year.

The production of conveyor lines at NMMC is fully localised. Components are manufactured at the company’s Navoi Machine-Building Plant. The Muruntau mine is NMMC’s showcase operation, with the open pit spanning 5.5 km in length and 3.4 km in width with a depth of 650 m. The mine is recognised by geologists as the largest in terms of gold reserves, with an estimated 4,500 t of gold. The company’s ‘Muruntau Open Pit Mining. 5th-order’ project, when implemented, will facilitate gold mining at depths of up to 1,050 m and increase production volume to more than 50 Mt of ore per year.