The territory of the republic has discovered deposits of coal, gas, and oil. Among them, coal deposits are the most widespread. In terms of coal reserves, Kyrgyzstan ranks among the leading positions in Central Asia. The deposits of oil, gas, black and non-ferrous metals, precious metals, and other minerals are quite competitive on a global scale.
The mining industry in the Kyrgyz Republic, like in other Central Asian republics, began to develop actively in the 1930s. It was the coal mines that were the first major industrial facilities in the economy of Kyrgyzstan. A total of 12 coal enterprises operated in Kyrgyzstan — 5 open-pit mines and 7 underground mines. The total volume of extraction reached up to 4.5 million tons of coal per year. The coal industry in the republic received intensive development during the war and post-war years. At that time, mining enterprises for non-ferrous metals — mercury, antimony, lead, zinc, and rare earths — were also established and began to develop actively. However, special attention was given to the search, exploration, and exploitation of uranium ore deposits. After World War II, this was one of the main strategic tasks of the military-industrial complex of the Soviet Union. The uranium deposits of Kyrgyzstan were identified and put into operation among the first uranium deposits in the USSR.
The greatest danger to the ecology of Kyrgyzstan comes from the tailings storage facilities for radioactive waste. To a greater or lesser extent, radioactive contamination has affected areas of about 6,000 hectares. The ecological situation is particularly poor in the urban-type settlements of Kadji-Sai, Min-Kush, Shakaftara, Kyzyl-Jar, and in the cities of Mailuu-Suu and Kara-Balta, where radioactive waste is located. The group of tailings storage facilities in the area of Mailuu-Suu is in the most unsatisfactory condition, as they are gradually being washed away since they are located in the floodplain of the Mailuu-Suu River. The state of non-ferrous metallurgy enterprises in the settlements of Sumsar, Aydarkan, Kadamjai, Ak-Tyuz, Chabae, and others raises concern. These wastes, combined with moisture, oxygen, and bacterial activity, contaminate the soil, surface, and groundwater.
