Race for Rare Minerals Brings Boom to Tajikistan’s Mines

Beneath the 4,000-metre peaks of Tajikistan, miners are scrambling to extract antimony, a critical metal at the centre of a global rush for rare minerals.

Once best known as a component in cosmetics, antimony has become indispensable in strategic industries, powering renewable energy technologies and strengthening military equipment.

In Saritag, located in the steep valleys of western Tajikistan, 1,500 employees of the mining company Talco Gold navigate around 50 kilometres (30 miles) of underground galleries.

“We are conducting drilling operations to determine what underground mineral resources are present,” said miner Imomkhasan Yorov, guiding AFP on a rare visit to the remote site.

The miners drill sample holes 50 metres (165 feet) long to assess mineral presence and can dig a 54-metre tunnel for extraction in just half a day, explained underground site manager Kholmakhmad Khakimzoda.

Once extracted, the antimony will be used in batteries, solar panels, and in reinforcing military armour.

This metal is part of a broader rush for rare earths and critical minerals across Central Asia, from the mountains of Kyrgyzstan to the deserts of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.

China, in a joint operation with Tajik enterprises, dominates the sector, though Russia, the European Union, the United States, and Gulf states are also vying for access.

Critical and Rare

“There are many antimony deposits in Tajikistan,” said Murad Dzhumazoda, deputy director of Talco Gold, which produces 10% of global supply.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS):

Antimony can be mined both in open cast quarries and through deep underground tunnels, explained Dzhumazoda, amid the clatter of vehicles and rock-crushing machinery supplied by Chinese, Finnish, and Swedish manufacturers.

Concerned that Beijing might control the global supply chain, the European Union monitors 34 elements designated as “critical raw materials”, including antimony, rare earths, and natural rubber.

54% of the EU’s antimony imports come from Tajikistan, and its price reached record highs last year following Chinese export restrictions.

Tajikistan hopes the mineral boom will fund industrialisation, crucial for a nation still reeling from 1990s civil wars and one of the weakest economies in the former Soviet Union.

Portraits of veteran leader Emomali Rakhmon, in power since 1992, loom over the miners, alongside extracts from his speeches:

“Significant reserves of raw materials ensure accelerated industrialisation.”

Ore extracted at Talco is crushed at an enrichment plant, where 5,000 tonnes are processed daily in two immense drums, said manager Fayzullo Safarov.

The process includes:

1. Separation of the metal from ore using chemical reagents in flotation tanks.
2. Filtering and drying the concentrate in sedimentation basins.
3. Bagging the resulting 30% pure antimony for export.

A huge Chinese investment in 2022 has enabled this ambitious operation. Plans are underway to build an antimony purification plant, further consolidating control over the production chain.

The Saritag site is a Soviet-era mine, built by Moscow. Mosaics glorifying antimony extraction and a faded portrait of Lenin remain visible in the rock.

Over time, China has gradually replaced Russia as the dominant mining power in Central Asia. A massive billboard depicts Xi Jinping alongside Tajikistan’s president, celebrating the “golden key of Tajikistan-China friendship.”

Tajikistan’s Antimony Industry Overview

Tajikistan’s mineral rush underscores the growing strategic importance of rare metals and highlights China’s dominant role in shaping Central Asia’s mining landscape.