Uzbekistan Targets Doubling of Uranium Output to 15,000 Tonnes by 2030

Uzbekistan’s state uranium producer, Navoiyuran, is targeting a near-doubling of annual uranium output by the end of the decade, according to presidential press materials reviewed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in early November. The documents put 2026 output at 7,500 tonnes and set a 2030 target of 15,000 tonnes, a goal that would push Central Asia’s largest uranium miner further up the list of the world’s top producers at a moment when Western utilities are racing to diversify nuclear fuel supply away from Russia.

A Target Built on In-Situ Leaching

Navoiyuran produces uranium almost entirely through in-situ leaching (ISL), a method that pumps a mildly acidic solution through underground ore bodies to dissolve uranium in place, rather than conventional open-pit or underground mining. The company’s newest ISL site, the Qizilkok deposit, moved from pilot operations in December 2024 to commercial production in April 2026, according to Uzbek industry reporting, and is central to the company’s plans to add output through the end of the decade. Navoiyuran has also said it plans 12 separate investment projects by the close of 2026, though it has not detailed all of them publicly.

As of April 2026, Navoiyuran reported JORC-compliant uranium reserves of 96,600 tonnes and additional mineral resources of 53,900 tonnes, figures that would support production at or near the 2030 target for well over a decade. Other recent industry estimates of Uzbekistan’s total resource base, cited at an October mining forum in Tashkent, have put the figure closer to 139,000 tonnes — a reminder that reserve and resource estimates in the sector vary depending on the classification standard and area covered, and are not directly comparable to Navoiyuran’s own JORC disclosure.

Recent Output Has Already Been Climbing

The trajectory behind the 2030 target reflects several years of steady gains. Uzbek trade press has reported annual output rising from roughly 5,200 tonnes in 2024 to about 7,000 tonnes in 2025, broadly consistent with the 7,500-tonne figure the presidential materials cite for 2026, though exact year-on-year figures differ slightly between sources depending on whether they measure calendar-year production or company fiscal reporting. The World Nuclear Association’s historical estimates had put Uzbek output lower, around 4,000 tonnes, as recently as 2024, underscoring how quickly the ramp-up at Qizilkok and other ISL sites has moved the needle. Navoiyuran has been described by trade publications as ranking among the world’s half-dozen largest uranium producers, alongside Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom, Canada’s Cameco and major Namibian and Australian operations.

Foreign Partners Are Already Involved

Uzbekistan has leaned on foreign technical and financial partners to help fund the expansion. French nuclear group Orano signed an agreement with Navoiyuran in 2025 aimed at boosting Uzbek uranium production, part of a broader pattern of Western and Asian utilities seeking direct access to non-Russian conversion and enrichment feedstock since the war in Ukraine disrupted established Russian-linked supply chains. Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom and Canada’s Cameco remain the two largest producers globally, and both have also announced expansion plans in the past two years, meaning Uzbekistan’s growth would add to a broader supply response from producers outside Russia rather than radically reshape the market on its own.

Why the Timing Matters

The expansion target comes as global utilities and new-build reactor developers look for secure, long-term uranium supply contracts, with demand expectations lifted by small modular reactor programs such as the Xe-100 project the US approved for construction on November 9, as TheDailyEnergy reported this week, and by continuing enrichment capacity additions such as Urenco USA’s first commercial LEU+ production, covered by TheDailyEnergy on November 3. Other producing countries have moved on parallel tracks: Namibia’s Bannerman Energy took a final investment decision on its Etango uranium mine in October, as TheDailyEnergy reported. Whether Uzbekistan’s 2030 target is met will depend on continued ISL permitting, foreign investment commitments such as the Orano deal translating into funded projects, and uranium prices remaining high enough to justify the capital spending Navoiyuran has flagged.

Sources

• President.uz, official presidential press materials on Navoiyuran’s development plans, reviewed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, early November 2026 — primary source for the 7,500-tonne 2026 baseline and 15,000-tonne 2030 target.
• Trend.az, “Uzbekistan plans to double uranium output to 15,000 tons by 2030,” November 2026 — independent corroboration of the 2030 target.
• UIMF 2026 (8th Uzbekistan International Mining & Metals Forum), October 2026 — for the alternative ~139,000-tonne resource estimate and 7,000-tonne recent output figure.
• Kun.uz, “Orano and Navoiyuran sign agreement to boost uranium production in Uzbekistan,” March 2025 — for the foreign-partnership context.
• World Nuclear Association, Uzbekistan country profile — for historical output comparison.

Illustrative image. Photo: Nuclear Regulatory Commission from US, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — source