'Vremya i My' newspaper
November 22

The Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Combine (NMMC, which belongs to the Kyzylkumredmetzoloto Kyzylkum precious metals and gold concern) is to be one of the founders of a joint venture with Australia's Multiplex Mining Corporation for extracting gold in Zarmitan and Ghujumsoy gold fields in central Uzbek Samarkand Region, the State Committee for Geology and Mineral Resources told the paper.

The state committee clarified that when the Uzalmazsoloto Uzbek diamond and gold association, which was supposed to have been one of the co-founders of the joint venture, went into liquidation in May 2002, its gold reserves were put on the NMMC's books. "Structural changes were a major reason for the project's delay. And now, as the government has decided to involve the NMMC in the joint venture, the process will speed up," a representative from the geology committee said.

It will be recalled that Australia's Multiplex Mining planned to sign on an equal footing with Uzbekistan a document on founding a joint venture in the first quarter of this year.

Multiplex Mining acquired the right to set up a joint venture at the Zarmitan and Ghujumsoy gold fields in September 2001, in keeping with a government resolution. The gold fields contain 20m tonnes of ore with the grading of 10 g/t for gold.

Multiplex Mining won the right from another Australian company Resolute Ltd.

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