Almalyk (Uzb. Olmaliq, Olmalik) is a city in the Tashkent region of Uzbekistan.
The population as of January 1, 2014 is 121.1 thousand inhabitants.
Located 52 km southeast of Tashkent, on the northern slopes of the Kuraminsky Range, on the left bank of the river. Angren, 18 km south of the railway. Akhangaran station (on the Tashkent-Angren branch), the final point of the Tashkent-Almalyk highway.
The largest center of non-ferrous metallurgy in Uzbekistan. The city consists of districts: Oydin, 5/2, Raduga, Telegraph, Cosmos, Old Bazaar, quarter 67 and the most prosperous Namuna quarter (DEPO) and Navruz quarter (Tselina and Khuzhalik 60). The city of Almalyk is famous for bringing up many young professionals.

Physical geography
Almalyk is located on the northern slope of the Kuraminsky Range, at an altitude of 600-650 m.
The settlement is located on the left bank of the Akhangaran River. A small river (stream) Almalyksay flows along Almalyk, which was previously a tributary of Akhangaran, but now it is completely disassembled into ditches near the city.

History
The name “Almalyk” in translation from Uzbek means “a place that was not conquered” (olmok – Uzbek to take, olmalik – not taken, not conquered). According to another version, Olmalik is translated as “apple”, “apple expanse”

Ancient times
Near the modern Almalyk, on the left bank of the Akhan-Garan River, there is the settlement of Imlak, known as Tunket in the Middle Ages. In the VI-VII centuries AD. e. the city was one of the central cities of the Chach oasis, stretching from the upper reaches of the Chirchik and Akhan-Garan rivers to the banks of the Syr Darya, in the area of ​​present-day Khujand, inclusive. The Chach (Shash) region was famous in the Ancient East as a large ore region in which metals were mined.
The survey of the region and the description of the city were carried out in the late 20s – 30s of the XX century by archaeologist M. E. Masson. In the summer of 1959, the Institute of Archeology of the Academy of Sciences of the Uzbek SSR began a thorough study of the city. The work was supervised by Yu. F. Buryakov. It turned out that Tunket was built in the VI-VII centuries. n. e. The city territory was surrounded by defensive walls, inside it there was a fortified core – a citadel, separated by a wall from the city itself. It had a ruler’s palace and a mint. Artisans of the city processed iron, copper and precious metals. Traces of ceramic and glass-blowing crafts. Materials of the XI-XII centuries. met quite rarely. Most likely, by the time of the arrival of the hordes of Genghis Khan, the city was in decline.
5 km west of Almalyk is the ancient settlement of Kul-Ata, also carefully examined by M.E. Masson.
The city also has a temple.

Exploration of mineral deposits as a prerequisite for the creation of a city
In pre-revolutionary times, there were two small villages on the site of modern Almalyk: Almalyk and Karamazar.
In 1923, a group of geologists arrived in Tashkent, and began searching for minerals in the Tashkent region.
In 1924-1925. the well-known Soviet geologist S. F. Mashkovtsev described the outcrops of oxidized ores in the region of the Bolshoi and Maly Kalmakyr mountains. In subsequent years, discoveries followed one after another: the Sarycheku copper deposit, the Altyn-Topkan and Kurgashinkan lead deposits, etc.
In 1925, the output of oxidized ores at Kalmakyr was examined in detail by another outstanding geologist B. N. Nasledov, whose name is closely associated with the development of the entire Almalyk region. On his advice, regular exploration work began here in 1927, which led to the creation of the plant.
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, exploration of the location of non-ferrous metals was completed and a plan was set for the creation of a plant that would unite all the mining enterprises of the Almalyk region.

City Founding
In March 1939, the management of the construction of the Almalyk copper-smelting plant was organized. In 1940, a district planning scheme for the complex of the copper smelter and the city of Almalyk was drawn up for 25,000 inhabitants. But further work on the construction of industrial enterprises in the Almalyk region was mothballed in connection with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.
In wartime, the prospecting artels “Help to the Front”, “Our Victory”, “Ak-Cheku”, “Krasnaya Zarya” worked at the Kalmakyr and Akturpak deposits. The miners beat off the gold-bearing rock, manually loaded it into trolleys and took it to the surface, then the ore was washed in the “old-fashioned way”. The resulting gold and silver were handed over to the state.
Only after the end of the Great Patriotic War, in 1946, construction in the Almalyk region was resumed, the design building of the plant was revised, and a site was chosen for the workers’ camp.
IN In 1947, the village of Almalyk was transformed into a working settlement on the territory of the Pskent region.
IN 1948 году проектный институт «Гипроцветмет» составил генеральную схему планировки города Алмалыка на 25 000 жителей и по ней начали строить.
Further design in Almalyk was entrusted to the Uzgosproekt design institute, which by the mid-1950s had compiled a feasibility study for the planning and development of the city.
On July 10, 1951, the Almalyk settlement was transformed into a city.

Center of non-ferrous metallurgy of Uzbekistan
INажным шагом в деле развития цветной металлургии в Узбекистане в послевоенный период и образовании города явилось строительство Алтынтопканского горно-металлургического комбината им. IN. И. Ленина (ныне Алмалыкский горно-металлургический комбинат). The combine and the lead-zinc concentrating plant were put into operation in 1954.
On October 6, 1962, the first section of the Almalyk copper processing plant was put into operation.
IN 1963 году построен Медеплавильный завод, состоящий из плавильного, медеэлектролитного и сернокислотных цехов.
At the zinc and copper smelters, sulfuric acid shops were set up, and on the basis of the utilization of poor sulfur dioxide, a shop for sulfuric acid and liquid sulfur dioxide was created.
IN том же году введен в эксплуатацию Цинковый завод и организовано сернокислотное производство.

Kurgashinkan Mine
The oldest mining enterprise of the plant, began its work in 1931. Main useful components: lead, zinc; associated: gold, silver, copper, cadmium, bismuth and a number of other rare earth elements. IN 1951 году месторождение оценено как промышленное и возник рудник. Then the southwestern Kurgashinkan, “Kulkermes” field was explored, and a “near-contact deposit” was discovered.
The Kurgashinsky mine produced ore for 43 years. Работа его прекращена в 1994 году, карьер был законсервироваn. And then it was flooded with groundwater with a volume of about 20 million cubic meters.

Altyn-Topkan Mine
The Altyn-Topkansky mine administration was created on the basis of polymetallic deposits of the mine field, which gave its name first to the mine, and then to the mine administration. Located 36 km from Almalyk, this ore field consists of a whole series of deposits: Pai-Bulak, Perevalnoye, Chashly, Kurbankul, Kichiksai, Myshik-Kol, Chal-Ata, Uch-Kot-ly, Altyn-Topkan, Tash-Geze, Sardoba, Shamyrsai.
The most promising of them were recognized as Altyn-Topkan, Chal-Ata, Sardoba, Pai-Bulak.
INпервые были отмечены в 1925 году Сардобское месторождение, в 1938 году. – Altyn-Topkanskoye, in 1940 – Chal-Ata. 1948 is officially considered the birth year of the mine.
The central quarry operated until 1971. Work here was suspended due to the collapse of the Ak-Tash mountain – the northern side of the quarry.
From the second half of 1958, ore mining by the underground method began.
By 1996, work was stopped.

Kalmakyr Mine
On its basis, a copper concentrating plant of the plant, a copper smelter were built. Construction on the field began in 1954.

Sary-Cheku Mine
The copper-molybdenum deposit was first evaluated in 1933. However, it was only in 1955 that intelligence work was organized. The following were found: molybdenum, copper, silver, sulfur, gold, selenium, tellurium, etc. Profitable operation of the deposit guarantees the life of the mine until 2010.

Uch-Kulach Mine
The lead-zinc-barite deposit is located 320 km from Almalyk. INпервые упоминается в работах Н. А. Смирнова, производившего в этих местах геологическую съемку в 1930—34 гг.
1979 – construction of the mine together with the working settlement of Uch-Kulach.
On March 1, 1996, ore mining was stopped.