Stellar mining plans to put into industrial circulation the Sarybulak copper ore deposit, located in the Ayagoz district of the Abay region. Mining will be carried out by open-pit mining within the contours of one quarry. The plan for future mining operations was posted on the Unified Environmental Portal for approval by experts and the public.
They want to start developing the field, discovered back in the Soviet years, next year. The total operating life of the quarry will be six years, and the maximum design productivity will be 256 thousand tons of ore per year.
The last time the mineral resource base of Sarybulak was assessed was this year. According to the Stellar mining plan, identified reserves amount to 572.6 thousand tons of copper ore (14.9 thousand tons of metal with an average content of 2.60%), estimated reserves – 601.6 thousand tons of ore (12.3 thousand . tons of metal with an average content of 2.04%).
Another project of the company, the Nurbay copper ore deposit, is also noted on the official Stellar mining portal. Both mining sites are located 90–100 km from the Balkhash-Sayak-Aktogay-Dostyk-Alashankol railway, which connects the largest copper deposits of the Northern Balkhash region with the Balkhash MMC. Most likely, Sarybulak ore will be processed there.
