The Ministry of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan has released its report on the results for 2024 in the fields of geology and subsoil use. A key objective for the Ministry is to increase the geological exploration of Kazakhstan’s territory to replenish the country’s mineral resource base, thus supporting the active development of all industrial sectors.
Kazakhstan’s mineral resource base includes over 9,500 deposits, including 987 deposits of solid minerals, 355 hydrocarbon deposits, more than 3,500 deposits of common minerals, and over 4,500 groundwater deposits.
In the past year, 23 new deposits were registered by subsoil users, and the exploration results showed an increase in reserves: 20 tons of gold, 48,000 tons of copper, 464,000 tons of chrome, and about 290,000 tons of lead and zinc.
The average reserve fulfillment coefficient for gold, uranium, iron, and manganese has shown a 2% increase over the last decade.
Efforts to attract investments into subsoil use are also ongoing, with the state geological exploration program identifying 38 promising areas for solid minerals, including rare earth metals (2.6 million tons), beryllium (23,800 tons), brown coal (1.1 billion tons), gold (19 tons), zirconium (2 million tons), niobium (500,000 tons), and tungsten (400,000 tons).
Additionally, the Kuyretykol deposit has been discovered, with reserves of around 800,000 tons of rare earth metals, including cerium and lanthanoids.
The opening of areas available for geological exploration has led to a significant rise in private investments for the exploration of solid minerals. In 2023, private investment increased 2.5 times compared to 2018, reaching 82 billion tenge.
In 2024, 606 exploration licenses were issued, showing growth from previous years. For mining, 33 licenses were issued.
Private investment in geological exploration is on the rise, as businesses show increased interest in searching for promising subsoil areas. In 2024, two electronic auctions took place, with major foreign companies such as Rio Tinto, Fortescue, Kratos Resources, and others competing with local companies like Kazakhmys and ERG Exploration for exploration rights.
Foreign companies are already operating in Kazakhstan, investing in exploration with at least 41 billion tenge and social obligations totaling 7.8 billion tenge, covering an area of 25,000 km². The expected results from the exploration of these deposits are expected between 2026 and 2028.
Growth in private investment in geological exploration is directly linked to the level of funding and effectiveness of early-stage geological studies that identify promising exploration areas. State geological exploration funding amounts to approximately 8 USD per square kilometer.
From 2018 to 2023, the allocation for geological exploration amounted to 51.2 billion tenge, while investments in subsoil use exploration reached 357 billion tenge.
In January 2025, an electronic auction for 21 plots took place, attracting over 50 companies. The total signing bonus amounted to 20 billion tenge, with investments of 40 million USD attracted.
Stable funding for state geological exploration positively impacts private investments and stimulates further exploration. This is essential for expanding the country’s mineral resource base.
On January 1, 2025, the Unified Subsoil Use Platform (minerals.e-qazyna.kz) was launched, providing open access to all geological data. The platform has digitized 22 government services, processing 506 applications since its launch. It contains a register of geological reports, including over 60,000 reports for free online access, and provides detailed information about licenses, contracts, occupied and free territories, and previous geological and geophysical studies.
For specific geological materials, subsoil users can apply through the National Geological Service’s website, and requests are processed within five business days.
