Negotiations over the sale of Kazakhstan’s Kazakhmys Corporation have been completed, with the company expected to change ownership in December. According to National Business Kazakhstan, the agreement on the transfer of ownership is planned to be signed before the end of the year and has already received regulatory approval.
The new owner of Kazakhmys will be Nurlan Artykbayev, founder of construction group Qazaq Stroy, whose personal wealth is estimated at about 228 million dollars. Qazaq Stroy’s press service told NBK that the preliminary value of the transaction, based on both independent and joint audits, stands at 3.85 billion dollars.
Following the ownership change, Kazakhmys’ strategic priorities are expected to remain intact. Qazaq Stroy said the arrival of a new shareholder will strengthen the company’s long-term strategy, focusing on improving operational efficiency, expanding the resource base, and implementing a large-scale investment program. The Kazakhmys group currently includes 37 companies and major production facilities, many of which are operating at around 50% capacity and require modernization.
For the period from 2026 to 2045, planned investments exceed 3 trillion tenge, or more than 5.5 billion dollars. These funds are earmarked for upgrading processing plants, introducing hydrometallurgical technologies, developing underground mining projects, and expanding power generation capacity. The company’s target is to increase copper production to about 500000 tons per year by 2032.
Nurlan Artykbayev, aged 50, has also controlled Qazaq Kalium Ltd. since 2023, a company developing the Satimola potash deposit. In 2024, one of his companies acquired a 9% stake in Kazakhtelecom from Jusan Bank.
Kazakhmys’ main shareholder has been oligarch Vladimir Kim, who owns 70% of the corporation and is also the principal owner of KAZ Minerals Group and RBK Bank. The remaining 30% of Kazakhmys Holding Ltd is controlled by his business partner Eduard Ogay. Media outlets have indicated they will continue to monitor developments surrounding the transaction in case its terms change.
