DUSHANBE, October 22, 2008, Asia-Plus — The Sughd-based open joint-stock company, Leninabad Rare Metals Plant (LRRMP), is expected to receive license for development of the nemaline quartz deposit neat the settlement Choruk-Darron by the end of this year, the enterprise director Mahmoud Kholiqov said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, the development of the Choruk-Darron deposit will create up to 500 new jobs for local residents.
“If we receive the license by the end of this year, will start construction of a plant with capacity of 20,000 tons of out put per year next March,” the director said, noting that development of the deposit will allow improving the settlement infrastructure.
He noted that due to development of the deposit the enterprise would be able to transfer 5-6 million US dollars in taxes to the national budget every year.
“Output that will be manufactured here is used practical at any metallurgical plant of the world,” Kholiqov said.
450 people now work with the Leninabad rare metals plant, which produces ferrosilicon.
The enterprise owner is Austria’s Stork Group belonging to Indian national Rathal Gjugendra Singh (phonetically spelled), Kholiqov said. “The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is expected to invest funds in the development of the deposit on the condition that the LRMP holder will pay 30 percent of the project cost,” the LRMP director said, noting that the estimated budget for implementation of the project is 25-30 million dollars.
Leninabad Rare Metals Plant (LRMP) is located in the settlement of Choruk- Darron, which is 20 kilometers away from Khujand. The plant was established during the year 1942 and was one of the biggest vanadium and molybdenum based master alloys producer during the Soviet period. After the collapse of Soviet Union, it had to undergo certain changes. Currently it is specialized in the production of: Ferrovanadium (FeV), Ferromolybdenum (FeMo), and Ferrotitanium (FeTi). Technical know-how, expertise and production facilities of the plant are intact and can allow producing many special alloys.
Stork Group companies were established at the end of 80’s as trading companies for consumer and industrial products and evolved into minerals, metals and heavy engineering goods trading group. Later on by mid-90’s, it entered into production ventures by acquiring substantial stakes of the following producers: JSC Uralredmet (Russia); JSC Chernyshikhinski Meat Processing Plant (Russia); Volnogorsk Zirconium Refractories Plant (Ukraine); TransInvestService Ltd. (Ukraine); Leninabad Rare Metals Plant (Tajikistan); and Bothli Tradе A. G. (Switzerland).
