Turkish-Dutch mining group CoreX Holding is targeting a significant expansion of the resource base at its Manka gold deposit in East Kazakhstan, with plans to more than double confirmed resources from 195,000 ounces to over 400,000 ounces through a second phase of exploration drilling, while beginning underground mining operations this year.
According to the company’s 2025 annual report, CoreX completed a comprehensive underground drilling programme at Manka including 10 additional holes totalling 2,000 metres in 2025, bringing the total drilling since acquiring exploration rights to approximately 5,000 metres. The programme identified approximately 340,000 ounces of potential resources, with 195,000 ounces confirmed through adit clearance and reserve definition in the first exploration phase. A second phase planned for 2026 will include 6,000 additional metres of drilling, expected to push total project resources beyond 400,000 ounces.
Mining is scheduled to begin in 2026 using underground methods including sublevel stoping and cut-and-fill mining, with production planned to continue for nine years. Annual output is targeted at up to 187,000 ounces of gold — a significant scale for a single underground operation.
The Manka deposit has a century-long history, having been discovered in 1925. Soviet-era mining between its discovery and 1954 extracted 300,000 tonnes of ore at an average grade of 12.24 grams per tonne, yielding 3.6 tonnes of gold. The deposit is located in a geographically sensitive border area near the intersection of Russia, Mongolia and China.
CoreX Holding’s Kazakhstan portfolio also includes the Voskhod Chrome operation in Aktobe Region, Altay Polymetals in Karaganda Region and the planned Qazaq Soda ash plant in Taraz.
