DUSHANBE, July 10, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Tajik Aluminum Company, which operates the Tajik Aluminum smelter, has leased 33 Chinese-made 25t dump trucks, Howo, and two wheeled loaders, Lon King to carry coal from the Fon-Yaghnob coalfield in the Ayni district, Sughd province to the aluminum smelter in Tursunzoda.

By government’s decree issued in March 2013 the Jijikrut and Konte sections were reportedly allotted to TALCO.  “From one to five million tons of coal are expected to be produced per year,” press release issued by TALCO says.

Meanwhile, according to the statistical data from the Ministry of energy and Industry (MoEI), Tajikistan has produced more than 100,000 tons of coal over the first five months of this year, which is 55,000 tons or more than twice than in the same period last.

We will recall that the enterprise has gas generators for gasification of coal.  TALCO’s annual requirements in gas are 50 million cubic meters and 45 million cubic meters of gas is reportedly generated through gasification of coal.

Coal gasification is the process of producing coal gas, a type of syngas (synthesis gas) – a mixture of carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen (H2), carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapour (H2O)–from coal.

Tajikistan is Central Asia’s biggest producer of primary aluminum. Tajikistan relies heavily on the smelter''s earnings.  Official data show aluminum accounted for around 57 percent of all Tajik hard currency export revenue this year.

The aluminum plant, run by the Tajik Aluminum Company (TALCO), was launched in late March 1975.  It is one of the ten largest aluminum smelters in the world and provides up to 70% of the country’s foreign currency earnings, consuming 40% of the country’s electrical power.  Tajikistan does not mine alumina but imports the raw material through tolling arrangements.