History of UPTOK

Development history

In 1958, the Volkov Expedition established a repair and mechanical workshop in Alma-Ata and a transport and repair base in Almaty Region. The units provided field teams without their own repair facilities with transport services, repairs, spare parts, drilling tools and custom equipment.

The workshop manufactured drilling tools, spare parts and custom equipment and repaired mining and drilling equipment. The transport base repaired vehicles and handled freight transportation.

As exploration volumes increased, the two facilities were consolidated in 1980 at the production site in Ili District and renamed the Production and Technical Support and Supply Directorate (UPTOK). New production, administrative and storage facilities were constructed, and the branch also incorporated warehouses and a railway siding at the former transport and repair base.