Ridder-Polymetal, a mining company, is gearing up to extract polymetallic and copper-bearing ores from the Strezhansky deposit located in the East Kazakhstan region. Having secured the necessary license in 2017, the company plans to initiate underground mining operations, slated to continue until 2038.
The mining plan has been made public on Kazakhstan’s Unified Environmental Portal, with scheduled public hearings on March 11, 2024. Pending coordination with environmentalists and the public, development of the deposit is expected to commence this year.
The Strezhansky deposit, whose reserves were integrated into the state balance in 2016, boasts significant ore reserves. On the state balance, ore reserves amount to 4,831 thousand tons, while off-balance reserves stand at 2,362 thousand tons. Notably, the deposit holds valuable components including copper, zinc, lead, gold, silver, cadmium, and bismuth.
Ridder-Polymetal aims to ramp up productivity at the mine, targeting 240 thousand tons of ore per year by the second year of operation, and 360 thousand tons annually by the fifth year.
Furthermore, the company highlights the strategic significance of the project, emphasizing its role in supplying raw materials to the ore processing plant in Altai. This becomes crucial as the plant’s capacity faces reduction due to the depletion of local deposits.
