ASHGABAT (TCA) — At the Turkmen Government meeting on November 22, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing oil and gas Myratgeldi Meredov briefed President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov that in the course of the exploration works carried out in the country’s Balkan province, major deposits of iron ore had been discovered, independent foreign-based news website Chronicles of Turkmenistan reported.
The state information agency TDH reported that the President “positively perceived the news” and subsequently summoned Bairamgeldi Ovezov, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing transportation, communications and industry, and Charymyrat Purchekov, Deputy Prime Minister overseeing construction, energy and public utilities, to charge them with the task of “efficiently using the country’s rich resources”.
“To ensure the efficient exploration of identified mineral deposits, the new manufacturing facilities based on the state-of-the-art technology need to be set up,” the head of state said.
Curiously enough, the new deposits were discovered three days after Berdymukhammedov had severely reprimanded officials overseeing the industry.
A similar situation has already occurred in Turkmenistan, Chronicles of Turkmenistan said. In late November 2018, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov demanded that the CEO of the state-run company Turkmengeology locate new mineral deposits. Later, in January 2019, fresh water aquifers as well as minerals for the manufacturing of construction materials were discovered.