The Sarytogan graphite deposit in Kazakhstan’s Karaganda region has officially been added to the European Union’s list of strategic raw material projects, a move announced during the Astana Mining & Metallurgy (AMM) 2025 Congress in Astana.
Preliminary assessments suggest that the Sarytogan site contains approximately 30% of the world’s known graphite reserves, making it one of the largest and cleanest surface-accessible graphite deposits globally. The project is seen as critical for securing the EU’s supply of materials vital to green technologies, particularly lithium-ion battery production.
According to Galymzhan Torebek, Deputy Chair of the Committee for Industry under Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Construction, the graphite mining project will be developed in four stages, with capital expenditures estimated between $62 million and $344 million.
The project’s new strategic status under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) means that the European Commission will now actively support the development by helping to attract investment and facilitate long-term supply agreements with European companies.
At the AMM 2025 award ceremony, officials outlined plans for institutional and financial backing for the Sarytogan project, aiming to ensure stable offtake agreements, which would make the mine more appealing to international investors.
The primary output from Sarytogan will include sterilized graphite, used as a stabilizer in EV batteries, and crystalline graphite, both critical components in the clean tech and high-performance electronics sectors.
