Quite recently yet, about 10-12 years ago, the educated part of Tajikistan population was inclined to think that on gaining independence the country will do a colossal leap in its economic development at the cost of natural resources reclamation. This mania was inherent mainly in intellectuals engaged in creative labor. And many newspapers retorting them got used to reiterate as an argument a dictum which came into a proverb in society setting our teeth on edge: “Our mountains have all Mendeleyev’s table in its entrails”. Partially, of course, this theory is explained by patriotism, an aspiration to get rid of cotton as monocrop. But many scientists in mining and economics were puzzled with this assertion. Among them there is Edward Gusakov, Merited engineer of Tajikistan, bearer of “Miner’s Glory” decorations of three degrees, chief engineer of “Vostokredmet” State-owned enterprise (SOE).

Chemical symbol U, specific weight - 18.7 g/cm3. Melting temperature - 1132C.
Uranium was discovered in 1789 in nasturanium mineral. It is called after Uranus planet discovered eight years earlier.
It was supposedly about 6.6 billion years ago. It is a heavy (dense) metal containing in abundance concentrated energy.
Its radioactive disintegration is the basic source of therm inside the earth causing convection and drift of continents, whereas in the solar system there are no such things.
Natural uranium occurs in the earth-crust, chiefly in the mixture of two isotopes: uranium - 238 (U-238) - about 93.3% and U-235 - about 0.7%. Isotope U-235 splits easily under certain conditions liberating a great deal of power. That’s why it is said being “divisional”.
U-238 disintegrates very slowly, the period of its semi-disintegration is equal to the age of the Earth.

- This opinion belongs basically to amateurs from mining and economics, - says my interlocutor who devoted half of his life to the elaboration of uranium production technologies in Tajikistan. - It is difficult to count even by means of a calculator the expenses beset with ore extraction in the mountains of Tajikistan. And it is without the means bound to be spent for tapping reserves, drafting documentation, involvement of technique, labor force and even transportation of raw stuffs along precipitous mountains. Pay attention to the regular phenomenon: a rare firm would be interested in investing resources into non-ferrous metals extraction; even coal, so popular under mountainous conditions, being not attractive for others. Visiting multiple times remote villages I heard rebukes from local inhabitants, why you, dealing with uranium can’t reinforce the defense capacity of Tajikistan? Yes, we do have uranium deposits in the country. But I realized, one should conduct a frank confidential talk with elders and teachers. And we parted after a substantial conversation being pleased with each other…
Uranium ore deposits are known in the world for hundreds of years. But as for industrial use of uranium and its salt it started in 1853 when they were applied as additions in glass production. When the phenomenon of radioactivity had been discovered uranium ores turned into a source of radium for scientific-research aims. Uranium-radium industry developed mostly by 1939 when the problem of uranium atomic nucleus splitting as solved. Intensive extraction was carried out in the USA, Canada, Belgian Congo. And in the USSR the history of uranium ores extraction began in Tajikistan in 1926 when Taboshar deposit was discovered. “In 1930-31 Giredmet (State Institute of Rare Metals) conducted explorations on extraction of radium from ores, - well-known expert in atoms Arkady Kruglov writes in his book “How Atomic Industry Was Built up in the USSR. - In 1935 they set up a small settlement, a mine and a hydro-metallurgic plant”. In 1941 the plant subordinated to the Head Management of rare metals under Narkomtsvetmet (people’s commissariat on non-ferrous metals) was evacuated to Taboshar settlement. In 1934 radium was extracted from Taboshar ore. Uranium deposits were found also in Adrasman and Mailisoo. On that raw stuffs base they started to erect combine #6 (now “Vostokredmet” SOE). The reserves of industrial uranium in Tajikistan were limited to the mid-1950s the entrails were exhausted. Doomed almost to extinction the method mining-chemical combine revived had been engrafted on the deposits of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. To say the truth, yet in the 80s some amounts of raw stuffs were given by Taboshar and “Right Bank” mine in the vicinity of Khujand. Here they carried into effect experimental-industrial jobs on lixiviation of uranium heaps from undressed ores; hereby mining-slitting method when uranium was leached directly on the spots of ore beddings was tested.
- Intensified geological reconnaissance revealed several uranium ore provinces - Mogoltau-Karamazar, Hissar-Karatega, and Pamirs - Edward Grigoryevich goes on; for the elaboration of the methods of underground lixiviation he was awarded the premiums of the USSR council of ministers and the republican one. - Regretfully, uranium reserves in ore are too scanty, so industrial activity dealing with these deposits is economically non-expedient. It just refers to Mendeleyev’s table in the mountains of Tajikistan. The share of “Tajik” uranium in the total amount of that one which is extracted and processed by “Vostokredmet” SOE is about 5%. The rest was brought from other republics. But it is not the quantity that counts - namely Tajikistan was that testing ground where they worked out the method of uranium extraction from different types of deposits; new technologies of ore processing later on being successfully used by other outfits.
The book “Uranium Deposits of Tajikistan” written by the experts of our combine will be of interest for those who wish the know about the history of uranium industry of the republic. Unfortunately, tapping, reconnaissance, extraction and processing of uranium ores were performed under the veil of strict secrecy due to the conditions of their time and therefore the wide circles of professionals are not knowledgeable for these developments, the preface to the book runs. The secrecy of the information dealing with uranium thematics produced a big gap in the knowledge of the predominant part of the graduates of higher schools whose bias dealt with mining geology and chemical technology. You can call it no otherwise than a paradox when the geology circles of Tajikistan, the republic which gave the first uranium, are up to now unaware of basic regularities of the geological structure and allocation of uranium deposits, methods of ores elaboration and processing; and the main thing is the ignorance concerned with the resultative ecology. This unawareness pours judgments influencing in the negative public opinion. Practically, this book has been the first step towards a liquidation of the informational vacuum shaped.
Today uranium is chiefly applied as fuel for atomic power engineering. Over 16% world electric power is produced by more than 440 nuclear reactors; over 30 reactors are being built.
- And still the amount of uranium extracted for today is almost twice less than all the functioning reactors need, - tells the chief of the productive-technical section under “Vostokredmet” A. Botov. - It is imputed to the production process of bygone twenty years when stored reserves and “military” uranium assigned for nuclear weapon were in the foreground. But these reserves are depleted and analysts prognosticated both uranium production growth and prices rise for the oncoming years. The full cost of one worked out kilowatt/hour of electric power (capital expenses inclusive) at the electro-stations of the world vacillates in the range of 3-5 cents. The value of energy obtained at the electro-stations of other types is approximately in the same limits. The advantage of atomic power engineering lies in little expenditures for fuel - from 5% to 9% from total ones. But the latters make up no less than 50% at the electro-stations working on coal, oil, gas. A kilogram of natural uranium is equivalent by the power obtained to 10 tons of oil or 15 tons of coal; a kilogram of dressed uranium - to the amounts being 8 times higher.
The tapped reserves of uranium in the world are fairly huge - of about 2000-2500 thousand tons. But many deposits are not worked off due to extraordinarily high expenses for extraction. Among CIS countries the primary producers of uranium for today there remain Russia, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. Hereby, in Russia uranium is expensive, raw stuff base is depleted, tapping of known ore beddings will require a lot of time and uphill work. Uzbekistan is hardly imagined to accrue the volumes of production in the nearest years as it is beset with immense capital investments. But as for Kazakhstan, it’s a peculiar article. This country possesses the third tapped reserves of uranium in the world, and “cheap” one into the bargain. “Kazatomprom” (atomic industry) national company is developing dynamically having excellent vistas for the future. It’s not by chance that such biggest world-known uranium companies as “Kozhema’ and “Catco” launched joint ventures with “Kazatomprom” NAC. There are other investors as well. And what about former companions? In 1997 the heads of CIS countries ratified the Plan of CIS states cooperation development in peaceful employment of atomic energy: a financial-industrial team on extraction and processing of uranium - containing raw stuffs was supposed to be formed, all enterprises and organizations of Russia, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan were to be involved. In 2001 such JV was launched on the base of “Zarechnoye” (means behind the river) deposit, but instead of Tajik “Vostokredmet” Kyrgyz JSC “Kara-Bolta Mining Combine” was included. “Vostokredmet” was promised to be admitted to the next joint venture. But when will this time have come? Soon “Zarechnoye” JV will mark its second anniversary, but they didn’t actually proceed to uranium extraction that seems to be accounted for by lack of resources.
Taking into consideration the tendencies of power engineering development one can say for sure that the world uranium market one of the most stable, lucrative and attractive for investors in the course of many decades. Integration into the world economy, consolidation of links with far abroad are necessary, of course. Every sovereign state has a right to independently choose business-partners. But it would be a very sad thing if only odds and ends form the Kazakh uranium cake fall to the lot of former companions.
April in Tajikistan is rich in international political and economic events - CIS countries foreign ministries council, EurAsEC and CSTO summits. It is worth anticipating any changes in the interrelations with former companions on the Ministry of middle-sized machine-building of the USSR, now “Minatom” of Russia? I think still we should hope.

Power can be considered in two categories - primary and secondary.
The primary power includes such kinds of natural resources as soft wood, coal, oil, natural gas and uranium, energy of wind, sun and hydro-energy. The secondary power embraces the forms being more fit for exploitation, affording to be transformed into their state by the primary power, such as electric energy and benzene.
The primary power can be resumable and non-resumable. Resumable power is the energy of sun, wind, waves, biomass (soft wood or plants), geothermal and hydropower.
Non-resumable power refers to organic fuel: coal, oil, natural gas giving over 80% of energy for today. Plus uranium.
There is no deficiency in the primary power. Sun gives us its energy every day. We see its evincement in various forms. Thus, for example, trees and plants being pierced with sun rays transform this power into a vegetative biomass. The enormous amount of solar power accumulated in the earth-crust. Uranium is also a source of power. It had formed in the Earth entrails billions of years ago even before the solar system came into being.
The principal goal for today is to get rid of organic fuel strong dependence and to use more intensively carbon sources of energy. It is to be done urgently in connection with the global warming on the Earth.