Uchkuduk, Uranium mine and industrial city in Navoiy Region, Uzbekistan
Uchkuduk is a mining town and uranium extraction site in the northwestern part of Navoiy Region within the Kyzylkum Desert. The settlement spreads around several extraction fields, where uranium-bearing rock layers lie beneath the sandy surface.
Geologists struck rich uranium deposits in 1958, leading the Soviet Union to rapidly build a mining settlement. Access to the town remained restricted until 1979, as the facility was under military control.
The name derives from the three wells that once supplied water in this desert area. Today, local street names and districts recall that original meaning.
The journey usually takes place via road connections from Navoi, traveling through flat desert landscape. Visitors should prepare for long drives without shade and limited supply options.
The extraction method uses chemical solutions that circulate underground through the rock and dissolve the uranium, without needing to dig tunnels. As a result, the surface changes only slightly, and the operations remain largely invisible.
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