Located near the country’s border with Kazakhstan, the Koskudyk and Ashibulak mines belong to a region where Russian and Chinese companies have recently been exploring oil and natural gas actively.

``We are going to explore the two mines in Uzbekistan for the next five years as the sole operator with a 100 percent stake,’’ a company spokesman said. ``We expect to develop oil or natural gas fields in the region.’’

Daewoo International has been engaged in various resource development projects in foreign countries such as Myanmar, Azerbaijan and Canada.