Turkish-Dutch conglomerate CoreX Holding, formerly known in Kazakhstan as Yildirim Holding, is closing four joint ventures with Qazgeology — a subsidiary of the state mining holding Tau-Ken Samruk — that had been carrying out exploration activities across several regions and mineral types, a senior company official has confirmed.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th Mining Congress in Astana, CoreX Holding’s deputy director general for administrative management in Kazakhstan, Anvar Boranbayev, said the company had operated five joint ventures with Qazgeology under exploration licences. Four of these are now being wound down.
The company’s production contract at the Voskhod chromite mine near Khromtau in Aktobe Region — operated through its Voskhod-Oriel enterprise — runs until 2029, by which point the deposit’s reserves and output have been declining in recent years. CoreX is conducting geological exploration in the Khromtau district in an effort to replenish its mineral resource base before the contract expires.
The company also holds an evaluated licence area called Udar on the Kempirsa plateau near the settlement of Badamsha in Aktobe Region, operated through its Sunrise Mining subsidiary. Boranbayev said a production permit application has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and is awaiting approval, with the company expecting to proceed once public and environmental review requirements for its mining plan have been satisfied. If reserves of approximately 500,000 tonnes of refined chrome are exploited at a rational rate, production at Udar could last four to five years.
CoreX, as the former Yildirim group, has previously faced questions over chrome raw material supplies to Russia — including to its own Tikhvin ferroalloy plant and the Novotroitsk chromium compounds plant — in the context of sanctions. In Kazakhstan, the company supplies the Aktobe Chromium Compounds Plant. A separate project, the Qazaq Soda calcined soda plant in Zhambyl Region, has experienced delays due to permitting documentation requirements but is now advancing with adjusted implementation plans.
