Kazakhstan’s second-largest gold producer Altynalmas has identified the National Bank of Kazakhstan’s statutory right to purchase all refined gold produced in the country as a material risk to its business, according to the prospectus published ahead of the company’s initial public offering on the Astana International Exchange.
Under Kazakhstan’s Law on Precious Metals and Precious Stones, the National Bank holds a legislated priority right to buy all refined gold produced domestically before it can be exported or sold to third parties. In practice, Altynalmas delivers virtually all of its output — in doré bar form — to the state refinery, with the refined gold then sold to the National Bank at prices linked to the monthly average LBMA gold price in US dollars, converted at the official dollar-tenge exchange rate. The prospectus, published in English only, warns that this arrangement concentrates credit risk in a single institutional counterparty and prevents the company from accessing international commodity markets directly.
The regulatory structure also creates specific challenges for project financing. Many international lenders and project finance banks require that gold be processed at an internationally accredited facility and sold on international markets as security for loan repayment — conditions that the National Bank’s priority purchase right makes difficult or impossible to satisfy, the prospectus states.
On production, the prospectus confirms that Altynalmas mined 433,000 ounces — approximately 13.5 tonnes — of gold in 2025, down from 511,000 ounces in 2024. The company holds proven and probable reserves of 4.4 million ounces under the JORC standard, alongside measured, indicated and inferred resources of 22.3 million ounces — sufficient, at last year’s production rate, to sustain at least a decade of operations from existing reserves alone.
Near-term output is projected at 380,000 to 430,000 ounces annually through to 2029, supported primarily by existing and expanding assets. A more significant step-up is anticipated from 2030 to 2035, when production is forecast to rise to between 600,000 and 750,000 ounces per year — a level that would make Altynalmas one of the more significant mid-tier gold producers in Central Asia.
