Solidcore Resources plc, a gold mining company, has announced the acquisition of a 55% stake in the Syrmbet tin deposit from Lancaster Group, as reported by Ulysmedia.kz. This undeveloped polymetallic deposit is the only one of its kind in Kazakhstan, primarily containing tin. Solidcore’s investment in the deposit will be $82.5 million, marking a notable development in a country with no prior tin production history. Lancaster Group had initially planned to invest $410 million in a concentrating plant, with financing from the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, but construction never commenced.
Located in northern Kazakhstan, the Syrmbet deposit was discovered in 1985. In 1998, it was incorporated as AO Syrmbet and later rebranded as Tin One Mining in 2017. Currently, Berkut Mining, a subsidiary of Lancaster Group, is the sole shareholder of Tin One Mining.
Previously known as Polymetal, Solidcore Resources relocated from Jersey to Kazakhstan and registered on the AIX exchange. Following U.S. sanctions on its Russian assets, Solidcore sold these to Russian company Mangazeya Plus for $3.69 billion. In 2024, a consortium of Omani investors, led by Maaden International Investment, acquired a 23.9% stake in Solidcore, formerly owned by Powerboom Investments. Solidcore’s CEO Vitaliy Nesis, a Russian entrepreneur, leads its development of Varvarinskoye and Bakyrchik mines in Kazakhstan.
Lancaster Group, founded by four business partners in 2003, includes Nurlan Kapparov, Erbolat Dosaev, Berik Kaniev, and Yuri Pak. According to Forbes Kazakhstan, Kaniev and Pak share the 73rd position among Kazakhstan’s wealthiest individuals, each valued at $64 million. Lancaster Group’s portfolio includes Tin One Mining, oilfield services companies, and a stake in the Quantum Stem school network.
