The new facility in Shymkent has begun processing almost 2 million tons of slag, with lead slag being converted into non-ferrous metal concentrate. Local businesses are ready to produce 21 thousand tons of zinc oxide per year and already manufacture over 4.5 thousand tons of copper-silver concentrate. The local demand for non-ferrous metal concentrate is high and that there will be no waste as they plan to launch two more production lines in the first half of this year.
Scientists in Shymkent have come up with two methods to extract valuable metals, such as silver and gold, from the black mountain that has been accumulating in the city for 70 years. They believe that it is not just this mountain that needs processing, as about 2 million tons of lead slag have accumulated in the floodplain of the Badam River, which could earn almost $2.5 million. The valuable metals are extracted first using special equipment, and the remainder will be used to create building materials, which is deemed safe as the slag has been thermally treated twice, eliminating the presence of arsenic, mercury, and sulfur.
While the fine dust from the slag still causes problems for local residents, scientists propose a profitable solution to get rid of it. Scientists emphasize that extracting non-ferrous metals and processing them into building products is essential to avoid wasting Kazakhstan’s non-ferrous metal raw material resource. The technology’s payback time is about 3.5-4 years by the most modest estimates, environmental problems will be resolved.