Mineral resource base of the CIS countries of the Central Asian region: status, areas of interaction and development

The countries of the Central Asian region of the CIS - the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Uzbekistan - have a powerful mineral resource base (MRB) covering almost the entire spectrum of mineral raw materials: ferrous, non-ferrous, noble, rare metals and combustible minerals. The foundation of this wealth was laid during the existence of the Soviet Union, when the joint efforts of the union republics carried out a systematic geological study of their territory and created the mining industry and metallurgy. The article discusses the state of MRB and mining production of mineral raw materials in the region, primarily regarding “basic” non-ferrous (copper, lead, zinc, nickel) and precious (gold and silver) metals.