Turkish mining company Miryıldız Mining is pressing ahead with a $480 million investment programme in Kazakhstan, centred on the development of the Zhanan gold deposit in Abai Region, with production targeted to begin before the end of 2026 and a potential stock exchange listing to follow, the company’s chief executive Emrah Erdem announced at the MINEX Kazakhstan 2026 forum in Astana.
The total investment covers construction of an ore processing plant, development of the Zhanan deposit and geological exploration across several additional licence areas. The Zhanan project — located 100 kilometres from the city of Semey — is at the pre-production stage and holds confirmed reserves of more than 750,000 ounces of gold, equivalent to over 23.3 tonnes. The deposit covers 450 licence blocks across approximately 1,030 square kilometres. Infrastructure prerequisites are already in place: the site is connected to electricity and water supply ahead of project launch.
A field camp of 150 workers — 122 of them Kazakhstani nationals — is currently active at Zhanan. Exploration began in 2025 with a first-phase budget of $18 million across Kazakhstan, of which $17 million has already been deployed. The company has confirmed Soviet-era geological data through its own drilling programme, supported by aerial photography, aeromagnetic surveys and resistivity studies that have returned strong geophysical results.
Erdem noted that Soviet geologists had previously extracted gold at Zhanan using heap leaching, but at grades of 0.2 to 0.5 grams per tonne — too low to be economically viable at scale. The company’s own drilling has identified higher-grade zones capable of supporting a conventional mining and processing operation. Construction of the mining project is already underway, with a workforce of between 1,300 and 1,800 people expected once gold and copper ore processing is at full capacity.
Beyond Zhanan, Miryıldız holds a total of 25 licences in Kazakhstan — one production and 24 exploration — spanning interests in gold, copper, chromium and other metals. Its exploration portfolio includes 159 blocks near Balkhash covering 358 square kilometres, 76 blocks near Bayanaul covering 172 square kilometres, 34 blocks near Boke-Ayagoz covering 77 square kilometres, and 28 blocks on the Almaty project covering 63 square kilometres. The company has recently commenced geophysical survey work in Pavlodar and Zhetysu regions.
Company presentation materials indicate that Miryıldız Mining is considering a listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange or a comparable exchange once production at Zhanan is underway. Erdem cited Kazakhstan’s strong geological potential and straightforward logistics as the primary factors behind the company’s decision to invest. Miryıldız is one of Turkey’s top three copper producers and operates the Gaziantep copper mine with 18 million tonnes of resources at an average grade of 1.7 grams per tonne, alongside a chrome mine and processing plant in Mersin and 137 exploration licences across multiple metals in Turkey. The company also holds five exploration licences covering 2,500 square kilometres in the Central African Republic.
