The National Development Plan of Kazakhstan aims to increase investments in geological exploration to $90 per square meter by 2029, a significant rise from the current spending of $63 per square meter. According to LS, this current expenditure is 39.6% below the global average, leading to insufficient reserves ready for development, particularly in critical minerals such as chromium, copper, and iron.
Kazakhstan possesses valuable resources like nickel, cobalt, and lithium, essential for the green economy, but their potential remains underutilized due to limited exploration investments. The same issue affects the development of rare earth metals.
To address these challenges, the plan proposes to stimulate investments in junior mining companies by simplifying their access to the stock exchange and revising tax deduction conditions for investors. The taxation for companies involved in extraction will also be reformed, shifting to a system based on the volume of product sales and profits rather than just the amount of raw material extracted. This new system will initially be tested on several pilot projects.
Additionally, geological exploration data will be digitized, and administrative barriers for obtaining exploration and mining licenses will be reduced.
