AzerGold Plans $7.8M First Stage at Uzbekistan's Akba Gold Deposit

Azerbaijan's AzerGold CJSC plans to invest $7.8 million in preparatory work and additional geological exploration at the Akba gold deposit in Uzbekistan's Kashkadarya region, and projects at least $100 million for the later stages of preparing the deposit for exploitation, APA reported. Zakir Ibrahimov, Chairman of the Board of AzerGold CJSC, set out the plan at a meeting with foreign investors on 21 October during Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's working visit to the region.

Ibrahimov also presented AzerGold Uzbekistan Limited Liability Company with Foreign Investment, the company's first foreign subsidiary, established in Uzbekistan. The final investment decision on Akba is planned for 2028, and the project has the potential to create up to 200 jobs, according to the presentation.

These are the company's preliminary figures. The investment, production and employment estimates will be refined after additional geological exploration, a mineral resource assessment, technical and economic analysis and project design, the report said. It gave no resource size, grade or production figure for Akba.

Exploration pact widens the search

Akba is part of a broader exploration effort. On 17 July 2026, AzerGold, Uzbekgeologorazvedka JSC and the Azerbaijan-Uzbekistan Investment Company signed a cooperation document on joint geological exploration in promising mineral areas of Uzbekistan, APA reported, and work is underway to establish a joint venture to explore areas between the cities of Navoi and Nurata. The parties are also discussing joint exploration and development of other promising mineral deposits in Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Kashkadarya courts investors

The visit was part of a wider push for investment in the region. Over the past five years 20 trillion soums has been directed to Kashkadarya and $7 billion of foreign investment attracted, and 161 projects worth more than $6 billion have been prepared, of which 69 were commissioned on 21 October and construction began on the other 92, the Uzbek president's press service said. The list included a gold mining project with Azerbaijan in the region's Kitab district; the press service did not name the deposit. Mirziyoyev said 2027 would be the year of development of the Kashkadarya region based on modern industry and agricultural technologies.

A tighter bilateral framework

The project follows a run of agreements between Baku and Tashkent. At a ceremony in Tashkent on 23 August 2026, Presidents Ilham Aliyev and Shavkat Mirziyoyev signed a Treaty on Eternal Friendship and the decision of the third meeting of their Supreme Interstate Council, and Azerbaijan's Minister of Economy Mikayil Jabbarov and Uzbekistan's Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov exchanged a programme to raise bilateral trade turnover to $1 billion by 2030, together with a roadmap for investment and trade projects, APA reported at the time.

The council dates to 2023. In a report on 23 August 2023 on Mirziyoyev's visit to Azerbaijan, the official website of the President of Uzbekistan said an agreement on establishing the Supreme Interstate Council of Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan had been signed, and that the leaders discussed projects in areas including metallurgy, energy and electrical engineering. During Aliyev's state visit to Uzbekistan in August 2024, the presidents signed an Agreement on Union Relations and set up cooperation on a portfolio of projects worth over $2 billion in energy, chemistry, mining, textiles, agriculture, urban development and other areas, the Times of Central Asia reported. AzerGold was among the companies whose representatives met both leaders during that visit.

Why it matters

The Uzbek subsidiary takes AzerGold abroad while it maps a $2.1bn build-out of four mining projects at home. For managers, the numbers describe an exploration-stage commitment: $7.8 million now, with at least $100 million dependent on exploration results and a decision planned for 2028. Near-term work is therefore more likely to go to exploration, drilling and technical service providers than to construction contractors.

The project also adds substance to the investment and trade roadmap the two governments exchanged in August, and Uzbekistan is pursuing a similar $1 billion trade goal with Georgia. For South Caucasus companies, the deal shows Uzbekistan opening exploration areas to a regional partner through Uzbekgeologorazvedka, though the Akba figures remain the company's own preliminary estimates until exploration is complete.

What to watch

• Results of the additional geological exploration and the mineral resource assessment for Akba, which will refine the preliminary figures.
• Establishment of the planned joint venture to explore areas between Navoi and Nurata.
• The final investment decision on Akba, planned for 2028.
• Progress on the programme to raise trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan to $1 billion by 2030.