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Eurasia
January 25, 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 21
ity (OEC), indicate that gold accounted for 40% of Uzbekistan’s exports in 2016 in monetary terms. Its value amounted to $2.86bn.
The new official figures on gold output and sales are expected to first appear in February.
According to the Engineering & Mining Journal, Uzbekistan’s annual gold output stood at approxi- mately 90 tonnes in 2013 and was set to gradually increase to 120 tonnes by 2020, based on previous plans announced by Uzbek officials. However, it
is unclear if such plans were ever followed up on after Karimov passed away.
Uzbek uranium
NMMC also controls all the uranium mining operations in the ex-Soviet state. As a conse-
You think the Kyrgyz kalpak hat’s goofy? Best keep that to yourself...
bne IntelliNews
Kyrgyz lawmakers are widely expected to approve a bill elevating a traditional Kyrgyz hat, the ak kalpak (the "white kalpak", as seen in the picture of the Kyrgyz Manaschi above) to the status of national cultural symbol alongside the country’s coat of arms, national anthem and national flag within a few days.
If the move is approved, anyone showing any form of “disrespect” towards the felt hat could be forced to pay a fine or could even end up in jail for a year. The hat bill was drafted by lawmakers Ekmat Baybakpayev and Bakirdin Subanbeko fol- lowing an incident in December 2017 when a pet
quence of the decree, foreign investors interested in NMMC’s uranium output might also be in for more detailed reports on the Uzbek uranium min- ing sector as well.
Uzbekistan’s uranium output amounted to ap- proximately 2,400 tonnes in 2017 and 2,405 tonnes in 2016, up from 2,385 tonnes produced in 2015. The country’s estimated uranium reserves amount to 190,000 tonnes, including 140,000 tonnes from sandstone deposits and 47,000 tonnes from black shale deposits, according to Uzbek authorities.
In 2017, Uzbekistan signed a seven-year contract worth more than $300mn on supplying uranium to the US. The country’s other major uranium export destinations include India and Japan.
Just dandy.
owner presented their dog, a Shiba Inu, wearing
a kalpak at a dog show. The occurrence apparent- ly drew widespread public outrage and a protest.
The bill would also make it compulsory for the Kyrgyz president, prime minister, cabinet mem- bers and MPs to wear the hat during certain foreign and official events. There will be a recom- mendation that anyone representing Kyrgyzstan, including athletes, wears the kalpak during offi- cial ceremonies.
The bill expects the government to control the production, sale and export of the kalpak.