Date: 26 June 2025
Location: Tashkent, Republic of Uzbekistan
Photos: https://2025.minexasia.com/
After the conclusion of the MINEX Central Asia’25 Forum, participants enjoyed a fascinating visit to the State Geological Museum of the Republic of Uzbekistan, widely recognised as one of the largest and most significant scientific and cultural institutions in the region. Established in 1926, the museum was founded based on unique collections of rocks and minerals amassed by Uzbek geologists over many years of research. Today, the museum’s collection comprises more than 50,000 exhibits, making it second only to the Beijing Geological Museum in Central Asia in terms of size.
Since 2024, the museum has occupied a new, modern building situated next to the Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology of Uzbekistan, as well as a branch of the University of Pisa. The three-level exhibition space features interactive multimedia technologies and encompasses a broad array of topics: mineralogy, palaeontology, the geological history of the country, both ancient and modern mining industries, technological processes of mineral extraction, and contemporary research into Uzbekistan’s subsoil.
Among the most impressive halls is the vertebrate exhibition, where visitors can view skeletons and fragments of prehistoric animals, including a dinosaur skeleton discovered near Tashkent. The main hall houses mineral collections representing nearly all elements of the periodic table. The hall dedicated to historical development reveals the geological processes that have shaped present-day Uzbekistan over the past 600 million years, while the hall of mineral resources displays ore samples from more than 2,700 of the country’s deposits.
A particular highlight is the petrography hall, showcasing igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks, as well as a regional hall with samples collected by geologists during numerous expeditions throughout Uzbekistan. The monographic and expedition halls recount discoveries of fauna and flora made by scientists from the 1920s to the present day.
The Geological Museum is more than a centre for education; it is a place that reveals the link between nature and the country’s economy, industry, and culture. Here, visitors can see materials that underpin the construction, metallurgical, and jewellery industries, and state-of-the-art exhibition technologies make scientific knowledge accessible to a wide audience, from schoolchildren to professional geologists.
This visit provided both an educational and inspirational finale to the forum’s packed programme, enabling participants to acquaint themselves with Uzbekistan’s natural and scientific heritage and to appreciate the country’s potential in geology and related fields.
