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Greetings, my dear viewers and this is the third part in a series about gold monetization efforts in the former USSR. Today we talk about Uzbekistan, the most populated country in Central Asia with 33 mln residents.
Uzbekistan is also a major commodity producer. As of 2019 It ranks 11 among world’s biggest gold producers according to World Gold Council (https://www.gold.org/goldhub/data/historical-mine-production) with 104 tons of gold produced.
Uzbekistan holds 332.49 tons of gold in its reserves (https://tradingeconomics.com/uzbekistan/gold-reserves), but it sold 35 tons since the mid 2018 peak of 367 tons. Uzbekistan also boasts the world biggest gold mine, Muruntau, with proven reserves of 4300 tons https://goldenfront.ru/articles/view/uzbekistan-sidit-na-zolotyh-slitkah-ego-rudnik-priznan-krupnejshim-v-mire/.
Uzbekistan’s gold monetization program is similar to those of its Central Asian neighbors. But this country differs from its neighbors in clearly outlining the goals of this program which are quite telling and far reaching.
The first goal is to civilize the country’s gold market. Uzbekistan legalized artisanal gold mining on 1st of March 2019 which allows for guarantees of final product’s quality (https://goldenfront.ru/articles/view/sberegatelnye-slitki-pochemu-cb-uzbekistana-reshil-ozolotit-naselenie/). Bars on offer are of 9999 purity with 4 weights of 5, 10, 20 and 50 grams. As you can see here they are well protected. They are packed in plastic envelopes, there is a serial number, QR code allowing you to check for authenticity in real time, protective membrane and a cryptoprint which appears once the envelope is unsealed (https://goldenfront.ru/articles/view/cb-uzbekistana-zapustil-prodazhu-zolotyh-slitkov/).
Secondly, they are trying to discourage cash hoarding which is widespread there.
Third and most significant these bars are seen as possible legal tender or bills of exchange which is very unusual for the former Soviet Union.
And fourth they want to sell smaller bars to tourists. At the beginning of 2020 they planning to install gold bar vending machines all over the country with bars on offer ranging from 1 to 5 grams of gold. But, of course, the pandemic put this on hold. (https://goldenfront.ru/articles/view/v-uzbekistane-ustanovyat-avtomaty-po-prodazhe-zolotyh-slitkov/)