Uzbekistan bets on critical minerals to power industrialization

Uzbekistan is courting foreign investors to move beyond mining and build more domestic processing for copper, rare earths and other critical minerals. The push could reshape the country’s industrial base if it can secure technology, power, water and logistics to keep more value at home.

Why it matters: - Uzbekistan is trying to turn mineral wealth into industrial capacity, not just export revenue. - The shift could determine how much value from copper, rare earths and other strategic minerals stays inside the country. - Success would strengthen Uzbekistan’s position as global demand for critical minerals rises and supply chains look for alternatives to concentrated processors.

What happened: - Uzbekistan invited Indian companies in early August to invest in its mining and metallurgical sectors. - The country asked for technology, capital and expertise for deep processing of copper and rare earth metals. - The invitation came as Uzbekistan expanded outreach to investors in critical minerals, gold, uranium and steel. - Alona Lebedieva, owner of the Ukrainian industrial and investment group Aurum Group, said deep processing could become one of the main tools for a new stage of Uzbekistan’s industrialization.

The details: - Invest Uzbekistan ranks the country fifth globally in gold reserves, eighth in copper and twelfth in uranium. - Uzbekistan also holds deposits of tungsten, molybdenum, lithium and rare earth elements. - Mining output reached about $17.6 billion in 2025. - The metallurgical industry generated more than $14.7 billion in the first 10 months of 2025. - Gold production reached about 130 tonnes. - The President of Uzbekistan said the country currently processes about 100,000 tonnes of copper. - Projects launching in 2026 are expected to lift deep-processing capacity to 240,000 tonnes. - Uzbekistan attracted about $10 billion in foreign investment to the mining sector over the past nine years. - The country plans to raise copper production to 500,000 tonnes a year by 2030. - More than 70 critical minerals projects worth $1.6 billion are already underway with companies from the U.S., China and Türkiye. - Uzbekistan is also focusing on higher-value production, not just extraction. - In New Delhi, Uzbekistan invited Indian companies to join gold, copper, uranium, critical mineral and rare earth projects, with a focus on steel production and deep processing. - About 400 Indian companies currently operate in Uzbekistan. - The portfolio of joint Uzbek-Indian projects exceeds $5 billion. - Bilateral trade rose 30% last year and passed $1.3 billion for the first time. - The two countries have set a next trade target of $2 billion. - In June, the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and Uzbekistan launched a joint investment platform focused on critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, transport and logistics, and advanced manufacturing.

Between the lines: - Uzbekistan is chasing more than extraction revenue. It wants domestic factories, local supply chains and more skilled industrial work. - The hard part is the step from mining to full processing. - Metallurgical and hydrometallurgical projects need reliable electricity, water, logistics, engineers, predictable investment rules and real technology transfer. - Environmental standards are becoming a gating factor for access to Western capital and international markets. - The International Energy Agency said critical mineral prices resumed rising in 2025 and early 2026 after several years of decline. - The IEA said base metals including copper, aluminium and tin rose by about one-third between January 2025 and April 2026. - The IEA said several strategic minor metals more than doubled, and tungsten rose sixfold over the same period. - The IEA also said the average share of the largest processor in key mineral supply chains, excluding rare earths, increased to 72% in 2025 from 70% in 2023. - The agency said the world could face a copper supply deficit of about 25% by 2035 even with the current project pipeline. - Kazakhstan offers a nearby example of the same challenge. It has more developed metallurgical capacity, but its move away from a raw-material model remains gradual.

What's next: - Uzbekistan’s near-term test is whether new investment can translate into more local processing rather than more raw exports. - The country will need to expand power, water, transport and technical talent to support deeper industrialization. - Future progress will also depend on whether foreign partners are willing to bring in technology and build production inside Uzbekistan. - Lebedieva said success will be measured less by extraction growth than by how much of the value chain Uzbekistan localizes.

The bottom line: - Uzbekistan sees critical minerals as a bridge from resource-rich to industrialized. The opportunity is real, but the payoff depends on whether the country can build the infrastructure and know-how to process more at home.