Uzbekistan’s state uranium company Navoiyuran has commissioned the Kizilkok uranium mine in Navoiy Region, marking a significant addition to the country’s production base as it pursues an ambitious expansion programme targeting higher output by 2030.
Pilot industrial operations at Kizilkok began in December 2024, and the project reached commercial production status within two years of active work, according to Navoiyuran director general Jamal Fayzullayev, quoted in a World Nuclear Association industry publication. The mine is expected to operate for 15 years with peak annual production of up to 1,200 tonnes of uranium, making a meaningful contribution to a national output target that has already seen dramatic growth. Navoiyuran produced 7,000 tonnes of uranium in 2025 — a 35% increase on the 5,200 tonnes extracted in 2024.
Kizilkok’s reserves are estimated at 9,400 tonnes with resources of 10,900 tonnes, making it the third-largest asset in Navoiyuran’s portfolio after the Sugrali deposit at 20,800 tonnes and Uchkuduk at 14,800 tonnes. The company manages 43 uranium deposits in total, with a combined resource base of 151,100 tonnes including approximately 96,600 tonnes of reserves. The new mine is developed using oxygen-based in-situ leaching technology with low-activity chemical reagents, which reduces extraction costs. Navoiyuran’s total cash costs stand at $27 per pound of uranium oxide — higher than Kazatomprom’s C1 cost of above $18 per pound in 2025, though both companies benefit from the in-situ leaching method that dominates Central Asian uranium production.
The production surge is generating a significant side effect: rapidly rising demand for sulphuric acid, a key reagent in the leaching process. The pressure on acid supply mirrors a trend already visible in Kazakhstan, where growing uranium output has similarly driven domestic demand to the point where exports ceased several years ago. Uzbekistan is set to commission a new sulphuric acid plant with capacity of 500,000 tonnes this year to supplement locally produced acid from metallurgical by-products — but the new facility will itself require large volumes of processed sulphur that domestic oil and gas cannot fully supply, creating a dependency on imports from Kazakhstan and other countries. With geopolitical pressures pushing sulphur prices to as high as $500 per tonne in some markets, rising input costs could weigh on Uzbekistan’s uranium production economics as output continues to grow.
Financially, Navoiyuran reported revenues of $1.112 billion in 2025, with adjusted net profit rising to $472 million and an average realisation price of $69.50 per pound of uranium oxide. By comparison, Kazatomprom — the world’s largest uranium producer — recorded sales of approximately $3.9 billion at an average price of $65.32 per pound on volumes of 13,700 tonnes, with net profit of approximately $1.7 billion.
