Kazakhmys has been notified by the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development regarding breaches of obligations under multiple contracts for exploration and extraction of copper and other metals, reports Exclusive.kz citing “Kursiv.”
The ministry directed a notification to the company, signed by Deputy Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development Iran Sharkhan, concerning violations of obligations under the contract for the extraction of copper-containing ores from the Zhilandy group deposits in the Karaganda region. The breaches include failure to meet investment plans, taxes, financing for research and development, and extraction.
The penalty for 2020 amounted to 71.2 million tenge, and for 2021, it was 27.3 million tenge.
In addition to the non-payment of research and development investments, the ministry identified serious violations under contracts for gold-copper-poly-metallic ore exploration, copper exploration, and extraction in various regions, including the Karaganda region.
Another company, Kazakhmys Coal, created in 2018 by spinning off coal companies “Razrez Molodezhny” and “Razrez Kuu-Chekinsky” from Kazakhmys, was also subject to inspection. It was found to have violated its contract for coal mining at the Borly deposit in the Karaganda region.
In total, violations totaling over 260 million tenge for 2020-2022 were identified, along with non-compliance with investments totaling over 300 million tenge. All violations were found in the Karaganda region. The company is required to rectify the violations within a month, otherwise, the ministry may take measures, including unilaterally terminating the contract.
The Ministry and the company have not commented on the information at this time. However, two weeks ago, the Ministry officially threatened to terminate a coal mining contract due to investment breaches by Shubarkol Premium, owned by Timur Kulibaev, the son-in-law of Nazarbayev, and Shubarkol Komir, owned by Alexander Mashkevich.
99.1% of Kazakhmys Corporation is owned by Kazakhmys Copper. The ultimate parent company is Kazakhmys Holding Limited, registered in the Astana International Financial Centre. Vladimir Kim, who owns 70% of the group, is Kazakhstan’s wealthiest businessman, with a fortune of $4.6 billion according to Forbes 2023. Eduard Ogay holds the 11th position among the richest Kazakhstani citizens, with a fortune of $750 million.
Exclusive.kz previously reported on the problem of underpayment by subsoil users for research and development in January 2023.
