MINEX Forum

Region: Kazakhstan

  • 70% критических минералов Центральной Азии уходят в Китай. Турция готова бросить вызов этой зависимости.

    70% критических минералов Центральной Азии уходят в Китай. Турция готова бросить вызов этой зависимости.

    Давайте начнём с одной цифры. Семьдесят процентов. Именно столько критического минерального сырья Центральной Азии сегодня уходит в Китай. Двадцать пять активных китайских проектов в регионе — это в пять раз больше, чем у всех европейских компаний вместе взятых. При этом Казахстан способен производить половину из тридцати четырёх материалов, которые Евросоюз называет критически важными: литий, кобальт, медь, вольфрам, редкоземельные элементы. В Сенате Казахстана оценивали потенциал казахстанских недр в сорок шесть триллионов долларов. Вдумайтесь в эту цифру.

     

     

    Вопрос в том — кто станет партнёром в превращении этого богатства из руды в готовую продукцию? Кто поможет выстроить полную цепочку — от геологоразведки до переработки? И кто предложит не просто деньги, а технологии, рынки сбыта и промышленные компетенции?

    Именно для того, чтобы ответить на эти вопросы, мы проводим двенадцатый Международный горно-геологический форум МАЙНЕКС Азия, который состоится двадцать четвёртого и двадцать пятого июня в отеле HiltonAnkara.

    Выбор Турции в качестве места проведения форума не случаен. Форум проводится в номад-формате, перемещаясь из страны в страну и повторяя маршруты Великого Шёлкового Пути. В этом году мы предпринимаем в своём роде уникальную попытку дать глубокую оценку процессов укрепления связей между тюркскими народами и перехода в новое качество объединения богатых минеральными ресурсами странами Центральной Азии с промышленной мощью Турции, а также финансовым капиталом стран Запада и Ближнего Востока.

    Буквально неделю назад, тринадцатого-четырнадцатого мая, Президент Эрдоган совершил государственный визит в Астану. Было подписано тринадцать соглашений в сферах инвестиций, энергетики и инфраструктуры, включая историческую Декларацию о вечной дружбе и партнерстве. Реализация проектов позволит привлечь свыше 920 миллионов долларов инвестиций и создать более 3 100 рабочих мест в Казахстане.

    Президент Токаев особо подчеркнул, что горнодобывающий комплекс является одним из приоритетных направлений взаимодействия. Он отметил богатый опыт турецких компаний и призвал их активнее участвовать в казахстанских проектах. Это не протокольная фраза. Это конкретный политический сигнал. И мы уже видим реальные плоды: компания Miryıldız построит ГОК в Абайской области, Çelikler Holding развивает угольную химию, а Aksa Energy реализует энергетический проект в Кызылорде. На сегодняшний день в Казахстане с участием турецких компаний осуществлено около 100 инвестиционных проектов на 4 миллиарда долларов, и еще 50 проектов на аналогичную сумму находятся в стадии реализации. Общий объем инвестиционного сотрудничества достиг внушительных 8 миллиардов долларов.

    Чтобы придать этому еще большее ускорение, Президент Токаев предложил создать совместный фонд для горнодобывающих проектов. Более того, новый Налоговый кодекс Казахстана теперь прямо поощряет глубокую переработку сырья через благоприятный режим роялти.

    Активизация взаимодействия с турецким бизнесом происходит практически во всех странах Средней Азии. Недавно в Ташкенте состоялся турецко-узбекский бизнес-форум, на котором были представлены амбициозные планы довести товарооборот до пяти миллиардов долларов. Узбекистан запускает программу развития критических минералов на два с половиной миллиарда долларов. В сентябре прошлого года прошёл кыргызско-турецкий бизнес-форум, задавший новую планку экономического сотрудничества. Кыргызстан определил двадцать два критических минерала для стратегического развития, а турецкие инвестиции в страну уже превышают полтора миллиарда.

    Мы наблюдаем системный сдвиг. Тюркские государства переходят от политической риторики братства к прагматическому экономическому партнёрству. И горнодобывающая отрасль находится в самом центре этого процесса.

    Теперь о Турции. Это уже давно не просто транзитная страна Среднего коридора. Минерально-сырьевой потенциал Турции оценивается в три с половиной триллиона долларов. Проект Бейликова— одно из крупнейших в мире месторождений редкоземельных элементов. Турция объявила о создании горнорудной биржи в двадцать шестом году и готовит масштабную национальную программу по переработке критически важных металлов. Страна целенаправленно переходит от экспорта сырья к высокотехнологичной переработке — от бора до магнитов из редких земель и батарейных прекурсоров.

    Что именно будет обсуждаться на форуме?

    Первый день — стратегия и капитал. Мы начнём с горнорудной стратегии Турции и её перехода к модели промышленной автономии. Затем — Средний коридор: как Транскаспийский маршрут может стать не просто логистическим обходом, а интегрированным промышленным поясом, связывающим добычу, переработку и рынки сбыта. Отдельная сессия посвящена острейшему вопросу — кто финансирует будущее горнодобычи в нашем регионе? Китай, Запад, Ближний Восток — каждый играет свою партию, и странам региона необходимо выстроить сбалансированную многовекторную стратегию. Первый день завершится презентациями проектов, реализуемых турецкими компаниями в странах Средней Азии и в Прикаспийском регионе.

    Вечером в резиденции посольства Великобритании совместно с Департаментом Бизнеса и Торговли мы проведем фуршет с участием высокопоставленных лиц.

    Второй день — технологии и устойчивое развитие. Как Казахстану и странам Центральной Азии вписаться в европейские цепочки поставок с учётом механизма CBAM и требований к цифровым паспортам продукции? Как управлять хвостохранилищами по мировым стандартам? Как искусственный интеллект уже сегодня меняет геологоразведку — от обработки советских архивных данных до беспилотной геофизики?

    Кто планирует участвовать в форуме?

    Среди ключевых партнёров в организации форума с турецкой стороны принимают участие Высший Горный Совет Союза торговых палат и товарных бирж Турции (TOBB), Ассоциация золотопромышленников и Ассоциация горнопромышленников Турции, на долю которой приходится около 75% всей добычи полезных ископаемых. В форуме также ожидается участие высшего руководства Фонда благосостояния Турции, а также ведущих компаний, таких как Dama Engineering, Argetest, KSE Mining, Kayen Maden, Positive Group Makine Muhendislik, DMT Türkiye, ExxonMobil и многих других.

    Теперь — самое важное. Что конкретно даёт этот форум казахстанским компаниям?

    Первое. Казахстан производит девятнадцать из тридцати четырёх критических минералов для стран ЕС. Но основная часть по-прежнему уходит на экспорт в необработанном виде. Форум — это площадка, где можно найти партнёра по переработке, и Турция с её промышленной инфраструктурой и логистическим плечом Среднего коридора — естественный кандидат.

    Второе. Инвестиции. На форуме предусмотрена специальная сессия, где ваши проекты — медные, золотые, литиевые, редкоземельные — могут быть представлены напрямую инвесторам. Не через посредников, не через переписку, а лицом к лицу с теми, кто принимает решения.

    Третье. Корейский институт KIGAM в прошлом году обнаружил месторождение лития в Восточном Казахстане стоимостью почти шестнадцать миллиардов долларов. Комплексный план развития редких и редкоземельных металлов до двадцать восьмого года уже запущен. Но конкурировать с Китаем в переработке сложно — и именно поэтому партнёрство с турецкими компаниями, которые сами строят перерабатывающие мощности, открывает для Казахстана новый маршрут на западные рынки!

    И четвёртое. Нетворкинг. Форум — это цифровая система подбора партнёров, двусторонние встречи, неформальный приём в Посольстве Великобритании в Анкаре и гала-ужин. Это те контакты, которые невозможно завязать по электронной почте.

    Коллеги, давайте посмотрим на ситуацию широко. Европа ищет альтернативу китайской зависимости в критических минералах. США запустили диалог C5+1 по критическим минералам. Турция строит перерабатывающие хабы. А Казахстан и страны Центральной Азии сидят на ресурсной базе, которую мир буквально разыскивает.

    Именно поэтому МАЙНЕКС Азия в Анкаре — это не просто ещё одна конференция. Это место, где ресурсы встречаются с капиталом, а стратегии — с конкретными партнёрами. Регистрация открыта на сайте 2026.minexasia.com.

    Приходите не слушать — приходите договариваться. Будем рады видеть вас на форуме двадцать четвёртого и двадцать пятого июня!

  • 70% of Central Asia’s Critical Minerals Go to China. Türkiye Is Positioning to Challenge That.

    70% of Central Asia’s Critical Minerals Go to China. Türkiye Is Positioning to Challenge That.

    China runs five times more mining projects in Central Asia than all European companies combined. But a shift is under way. Türkiye is investing billions, building rare earth processing capacity, and forging a new industrial corridor from the Caspian to the Mediterranean. In this episode, we explore why Ankara is emerging as the pivot point in the global race for critical metals — and what it means for Kazakhstan, Europe, and the West.

    Let us begin with a single figure. Seventy per cent. That is the share of Central Asia’s critical mineral output that currently goes to China. Twenty-five active Chinese projects in the region — five times the number of all European projects combined. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is capable of producing half of the thirty-four materials the European Union classifies as critical: lithium, cobalt, copper, tungsten, rare earth elements. The Senate of Kazakhstan has valued the country’s subsoil potential at forty-six trillion dollars. Let that figure sink in.

    The question is — who will become the partner in transforming this wealth from ore into finished products? Who will help build the full value chain, from geological exploration to processing? And who will offer not merely capital, but technology, market access, and industrial expertise?

    It is precisely to address these questions that we are holding the twelfth International Mining and Exploration Forum, MINEX Asia, which will take place on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of June at the Hilton Ankara.

    The choice of Türkiye as the venue is no coincidence. The forum operates in a nomadic format, moving from country to country and retracing the routes of the Great Silk Road. This year, we are undertaking what is, in many ways, a unique endeavour — to offer an in-depth assessment of the strengthening ties amongst Turkic nations and the transition towards a new quality of partnership, uniting the mineral-rich countries of Central Asia with Türkiye’s industrial might and the financial capital of the West and the Middle East.

    Just a week ago, on the thirteenth and fourteenth of May, President Erdoğan paid a state visit to Astana. Thirteen agreements were signed in the fields of investment, energy, and infrastructure, including the historic Declaration on Eternal Friendship and Partnership. The implementation of these projects is expected to attract over 920 million dollars in investment and create more than 3,100 jobs in Kazakhstan.

    President Tokayev placed particular emphasis on the mining sector as one of the priority areas of cooperation. He highlighted the considerable experience of Turkish companies and urged them to take a more active role in Kazakh projects. This was not a formulaic diplomatic remark. It was a concrete political signal. And we are already seeing tangible results: Miryıldız is building a mining and processing plant in the Abai region, Çelikler Holding is developing coal chemistry, and Aksa Energy is delivering an energy project in Kyzylorda. To date, approximately one hundred investment projects worth four billion dollars have been carried out in Kazakhstan with Turkish participation, and a further fifty projects of comparable value are currently under way. The total volume of investment cooperation has reached an impressive eight billion dollars.

    To lend further momentum to this process, President Tokayev proposed the establishment of a joint fund for mining projects. Moreover, Kazakhstan’s new Tax Code now directly incentivises deep processing of raw materials through a favourable royalty regime.

    The intensification of engagement with Turkish business is taking place across virtually all Central Asian countries. A Turkish-Uzbek business forum was recently held in Tashkent, where ambitious plans to raise bilateral trade to five billion dollars were presented. Uzbekistan is launching a critical minerals development programme worth two and a half billion dollars. Last September, a Kyrgyz-Turkish business forum set a new benchmark for economic cooperation. Kyrgyzstan has identified twenty-two critical minerals for strategic development, and Turkish investment in the country already exceeds one and a half billion dollars.

    We are witnessing a systemic shift. The Turkic states are moving from the political rhetoric of brotherhood towards pragmatic economic partnership. And the mining industry sits at the very heart of this process.

    Now, a word on Türkiye. It has long ceased to be merely a transit country along the Middle Corridor. Türkiye’s mineral resource potential is valued at three and a half trillion dollars. The Beylikova project is one of the world’s largest, rare-earth deposits. Türkiye has announced the creation of a mining exchange in 2026 and is preparing a large-scale national programme for the processing of critical metals. The country is purposefully transitioning from raw material exports to high-technology processing — from boron to rare earth magnets and battery precursors.


    What precisely will be discussed at the forum?

    Day one focuses on strategy and capital. We shall begin with Türkiye’s mining strategy and its shift towards a model of industrial autonomy. Next — the Middle Corridor: how the Trans-Caspian route can become not simply a logistical bypass, but an integrated industrial belt linking extraction, processing, and end markets. A dedicated session will address the most pressing question — who is financing the future of mining in our region? China, the West, the Middle East — each is playing its own hand, and the countries of the region must build a balanced, multi-vector strategy. Day one will conclude with presentations of projects being delivered by Turkish companies in Central Asia and the Caspian region.

    In the evening, we shall host a reception at the residence of the British Embassy, in partnership with the Department for Business and Trade, attended by senior dignitaries.

    Day two centres on technology and sustainable development. How can Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia integrate into European supply chains in light of the CBAM mechanism and digital product passport requirements? How should tailings storage facilities be managed to international standards? How is artificial intelligence already transforming geological exploration — from the processing of Soviet-era archival data to unmanned geophysics?

    Who is expected to attend the forum?

    Amongst the key organisational partners on the Turkish side are the Supreme Mining Council of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye (TOBB), the Gold Producers’ Association, and the Turkish Mining Association, which accounts for approximately seventy-five per cent of all mineral extraction in the country. The forum also anticipates the participation of senior officials from the Türkiye Wealth Fund, as well as leading companies such as Dama Engineering, Argetest, KSE Mining, Kayen Maden, Positive Group Makine Muhendislik, DMT Türkiye, ExxonMobil and many others.

    Now — the most important point. What specifically does this forum offer Kazakh companies?

    Firstly, Central Asian countries, like Kazakhstan, produces nineteen of the thirty-four critical minerals for EU countries. Yet the bulk of output is still exported in unprocessed form. The forum provides a platform to find a processing partner, and Türkiye — with its industrial infrastructure and the logistical reach of the Middle Corridor — is a natural candidate.

    Secondly, investment. The forum includes a dedicated session where your projects — copper, gold, lithium, rare earths — can be presented directly to investors. Not through intermediaries, not via correspondence, but face to face with the decision-makers.

    Thirdly, the Korean Institute KIGAM last year discovered a lithium deposit in East Kazakhstan valued at nearly sixteen billion dollars. A comprehensive plan for the development of rare and rare earth metals through to 2028 is already under way. However, competing with China in processing is no easy task — and it is precisely for this reason that partnership with Turkish companies, which are themselves building processing capacity, opens a new route for landlocked Central Asian countries to Western markets.

    And fourthly, networking. The forum offers a digital matchmaking system, bilateral meetings, an informal reception at the British Embassy in Ankara, and a gala dinner. These are the kinds of networking in-person opportunities simply cannot be forged over email.

    Colleagues, let us take a broad view. Europe is seeking an alternative to its dependence on China for critical minerals. The United States has launched the C5+1 dialogue on critical minerals. Türkiye is building processing hubs. And Kazakhstan and the countries of Central Asia are sitting on a resource base that the world is quite literally searching for.

    That is precisely why MINEX Asia in Ankara is not just another conference. It is the place where resources meet capital, and strategies meet concrete partners. Registration is open at 2026.minexasia.com.

    Come not to listen — come to do business. We look forward to welcoming you to the forum on the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth of June.

  • Kazakhstan Sees $10-12 Billion Opportunity in Copper and Aluminium Processing as 97% of Copper Currently Exported Without Deep Refining

    Kazakhstan Sees $10-12 Billion Opportunity in Copper and Aluminium Processing as 97% of Copper Currently Exported Without Deep Refining

    Kazakhstan could attract between $10 billion and $12 billion in investment for copper and aluminium processing projects, a deputy minister of the national economy has told the country’s Senate, highlighting a structural weakness in which the overwhelming majority of the country’s copper leaves the country in raw or minimally processed form.

    Deputy Minister Arman Kasenov told senators that copper ranks second only to gold in terms of importance and value-added potential within Kazakhstan’s metallurgical sector — yet up to 97% of the metal extracted is currently exported either without processing or after only primary treatment. He said investment in the copper segment alone could exceed $5 to $6 billion, with priority directions including the production of ultra-thin copper foil, a material in high demand for battery and electric vehicle manufacturing.

    Kasenov said Kazakhstan has the conditions to establish at least one large modern copper smelting plant, either through domestic companies or in partnership with credible international players. The statement aligns with the government’s broader push to move from a raw material export model toward domestic value-added industrial production.

    On aluminium, the deputy minister highlighted a similar processing gap. Kazakhstan currently produces alumina from bauxite, but only one third of that alumina is converted into primary aluminium at ERG’s Pavlodar plant, which is already operating at full capacity. The remaining two thirds of Kazakhstani alumina is exported. Expanding domestic alumina-to-aluminium conversion would open opportunities for the production of aluminium wire, cable, rolled products and other downstream goods. Kasenov estimated the investment required for such expansion at more than $5 to $6 billion — a figure consistent with the scale of the East Hope Group’s proposed $12.6 billion full-cycle aluminium project in Kostanai Region currently under discussion with the government.

  • CoreX Holding Winds Down Four Kazakhstan Joint Ventures With Qazgeology as Voskhod Chrome Mine Approaches Contract End

    CoreX Holding Winds Down Four Kazakhstan Joint Ventures With Qazgeology as Voskhod Chrome Mine Approaches Contract End

    Turkish-Dutch conglomerate CoreX Holding, formerly known in Kazakhstan as Yildirim Holding, is closing four joint ventures with Qazgeology — a subsidiary of the state mining holding Tau-Ken Samruk — that had been carrying out exploration activities across several regions and mineral types, a senior company official has confirmed.

    Speaking on the sidelines of the 4th Mining Congress in Astana, CoreX Holding’s deputy director general for administrative management in Kazakhstan, Anvar Boranbayev, said the company had operated five joint ventures with Qazgeology under exploration licences. Four of these are now being wound down.

    The company’s production contract at the Voskhod chromite mine near Khromtau in Aktobe Region — operated through its Voskhod-Oriel enterprise — runs until 2029, by which point the deposit’s reserves and output have been declining in recent years. CoreX is conducting geological exploration in the Khromtau district in an effort to replenish its mineral resource base before the contract expires.

    The company also holds an evaluated licence area called Udar on the Kempirsa plateau near the settlement of Badamsha in Aktobe Region, operated through its Sunrise Mining subsidiary. Boranbayev said a production permit application has been submitted to the Ministry of Industry and is awaiting approval, with the company expecting to proceed once public and environmental review requirements for its mining plan have been satisfied. If reserves of approximately 500,000 tonnes of refined chrome are exploited at a rational rate, production at Udar could last four to five years.

    CoreX, as the former Yildirim group, has previously faced questions over chrome raw material supplies to Russia — including to its own Tikhvin ferroalloy plant and the Novotroitsk chromium compounds plant — in the context of sanctions. In Kazakhstan, the company supplies the Aktobe Chromium Compounds Plant. A separate project, the Qazaq Soda calcined soda plant in Zhambyl Region, has experienced delays due to permitting documentation requirements but is now advancing with adjusted implementation plans.

  • AIFC Brings Hong Kong Stock Exchange to Astana as Kazakhstan Junior Miners Eye Dual Listing Route to International Capital

    AIFC Brings Hong Kong Stock Exchange to Astana as Kazakhstan Junior Miners Eye Dual Listing Route to International Capital

    The Astana International Financial Centre has convened a roundtable between representatives of the Astana International Exchange and Hong Kong Stock Exchange to explore practical pathways for Kazakhstani junior mining and fintech companies to access international capital markets — a step the AIFC frames as essential to unlocking investment in the country’s vast but underfinanced early-stage exploration pipeline.

    The event brought together exchange leadership, investment banks and exploration companies including Kusto Altyn and Copper, Pallas Resources, KazakhNickel, Atlant Minerals, Altyn Samruk and Qazgeology, alongside members of the AIFC’s Mining Sector Expert Council. The discussion centred on the financing mechanisms and listing requirements of both HKEX and AIX, with particular attention to what Hong Kong can offer companies seeking access to Asian institutional capital.

    AIFC chief product officer Zhanbolat Kakishev said junior companies worldwide play a key role in new mineral discoveries but face the greatest financing challenges at early stages. “The launch of Junior Mining Platform was one of AIFC’s steps toward building a financing ecosystem for such projects,” he said, adding that the roundtable was designed to develop practical mechanisms for preparing junior companies for international investment and eventual capital market listings.

    A concrete example of the dual listing model was presented to participants: the 2025 simultaneous listing of Jiaxin International Resources Investment Limited — a tungsten producer operating in Almaty Region — on both AIX and HKEX. The offering became the first CNY-denominated IPO in Central Asia and the first Belt and Road segment IPO on AIX. Combined investor demand across global markets exceeded the target volume by more than 220 times, reaching over $34 billion — a figure participants cited as evidence of substantial international appetite for Kazakhstani mining assets.

    Johnson Choi of HKEX outlined the key stages of the listing process and highlighted barriers companies typically encounter, including corporate governance standards, disclosure requirements and transparency obligations. Qazgeology CEO Bakyt Chirchikbayev said the platform and roundtable had provided the most comprehensive information his organisation had received on international capital market requirements. “Such initiatives help companies objectively assess their readiness for listing,” he said.

    The roundtable also discussed institutional investor interest in rare earth projects from Hong Kong-based funds, the legal mechanics of dual listings, yuan-denominated bond issuance and the role of investment banks in the listing process. The broader context includes growing yuan-denominated capital market activity through AIX: Samruk-Kazyna completed Kazakhstan’s first panda bond placement of three billion yuan on AIX in April 2026, followed by Caspian Solar’s 625 million yuan green bond in May.

  • Kazakhstan Government Backs East Hope Group’s $12.6 Billion Green Aluminium Project as Two Alumina Plants Planned for Kostanai Region

    Kazakhstan Government Backs East Hope Group’s $12.6 Billion Green Aluminium Project as Two Alumina Plants Planned for Kostanai Region

    The Kazakhstani government has confirmed its support for a major investment project by China’s East Hope Group, with First Deputy Prime Minister Nurlybek Nalibayev meeting the Chinese conglomerate’s director general Chen Lei to advance plans for a full-cycle green aluminium production complex in Kostanai Region.

    The project, with a planned investment of approximately $12.6 billion, envisions an environmentally clean aluminium production chain encompassing bauxite mining and processing, an electrolysis plant and a wind power station to supply the operation with renewable electricity. East Hope Group is currently conducting geological exploration across a number of licence blocks in Kostanai and Aktobe regions in preparation for the project’s development phases.

    The government’s endorsement follows earlier reports from late March indicating that Chinese investors are planning to construct two alumina plants in Kostanai Region with combined investments exceeding 1.1 trillion tenge. According to the regional administration, the first facility — with annual capacity of one million tonnes of alumina — is expected to begin operations in 2028, followed by a second plant capable of producing up to two million tonnes of alumina per year from 2029.

    The scale of the proposed investment would make it one of the largest single foreign direct investment projects in Kazakhstan’s industrial history, and would establish the country as a significant player in global aluminium supply chains by creating fully integrated domestic capacity from raw material extraction through to primary metal production.

  • Solidcore’s Tokhtar Gold Deal Stuck in Limbo as Ministry Denies Receiving Acquisition Application

    Solidcore’s Tokhtar Gold Deal Stuck in Limbo as Ministry Denies Receiving Acquisition Application

    A regulatory impasse has emerged around Solidcore Resources’ planned acquisition of the Tokhtar gold project in Kazakhstan’s Kostanai Region, after the Ministry of Industry and Construction stated it has received no application to transfer subsoil use rights for the project — even as Solidcore has been publicly waiting for government approval for more than a year.

    In a formal response to inbusiness.kz via the eotinish electronic platform, the ministry confirmed it had received no application regarding the acquisition of the Tokhtar, South Tokhtar and Barambai licence areas, and said it therefore had no information on the reasons for the deal’s non-approval or its current status. Solidcore chief executive Vitaly Nesis told the publication in April that the deal had “not been approved by state authorities,” declining to elaborate further. The unresolved status of the transaction was also acknowledged during Solidcore’s 2025 annual results webcast without explanation.

    The disconnect is puzzling given standard procedure: applications to transfer subsoil use rights for solid minerals are normally submitted to the relevant sectoral regulator — in this case the Ministry of Industry — raising the question of whether an application was ever formally submitted, and if so where it was directed.

    Solidcore announced the intended acquisition more than a year ago. The deal was structured in two phases: a 51% stake to be purchased in the third quarter of 2025 for approximately $25 million, with the remaining 49% to follow based on a resource valuation of the Tokhtar, South Tokhtar and Barambai areas. JORC-compliant mineral resources at Tokhtar and South Tokhtar were estimated at 1.1 million ounces of gold, equivalent to approximately 34.2 tonnes. Aurora Minerals provided geological and legal support for the project.

    Ownership records add further complexity to the picture. According to the Ministry of Industry’s solid minerals contract register, the Tokhtar production contract belonged to GRK Tokhtar LLP, while the South Tokhtar-Barambai exploration and production contract was held by Kompleksnaya Geologo-Ekologicheskaya Ekspeditsiya LLP. Both companies were linked to Mukhamedjan Turdakhunov, a long-serving president of the Sokolovskoye-Sarbaiskoye Mining and Processing Association within ERG. Aurora Minerals’ website identifies the seller as KAML Kazakhstan LLP, and public data from adata.kz shows a related entity — KAML Limited, registered in 2024 — with Turdakhunov and ERG board member Eduard Surlevich listed as founders.

  • Mystery Investor Acquires 30% Stake in Kazakhstan’s Largest Coal Mine as Samruk-Energo Prepares Full Exit From Bogatyr Komir

    Mystery Investor Acquires 30% Stake in Kazakhstan’s Largest Coal Mine as Samruk-Energo Prepares Full Exit From Bogatyr Komir

    An unidentified investor has acquired a 30% stake in Forum Muider Limited — the holding company that owns Bogatyr Komir, Kazakhstan’s largest coal producer — through a new share issuance that simultaneously diluted the stakes of both existing shareholders, state energy holding Samruk-Energo and Russian aluminium giant Rusal, raising transparency concerns about the privatisation of a strategically significant national asset.

    According to Samruk-Energo’s 2025 financial statements, Forum Muider Limited issued and placed 7,779 new shares in favour of the new investor in the course of 2025. As a result, from 24 September 2025, the stakes of both Samruk-Energo and Rusal’s Miradore Enterprises Limited were reduced from 50% to 35% each, with the new investor holding the remaining 30%. Data from adata.kz identifies the third shareholder as a non-resident entity called Primet LLC.

    Samruk-Energo’s exit from the structure is now imminent. On 30 December 2025, the national company signed an agreement to sell its remaining 35% stake to the same investor, subject to a number of conditions precedent including the signing of an undertaking agreement on the mechanism for declaring and paying historical dividends owed to both Samruk-Energo and Miradore at the level of both Bogatyr Komir and Forum Muider. The company’s management expects all conditions to be met and the transaction to close in 2026. Samruk-Energo had already classified the investment as an asset held for sale at year-end, valued at 77.1 billion tenge on its balance sheet, while recognising an impairment and disposal loss of 15.7 billion tenge during 2025.

    The identity of the beneficial owner behind Primet LLC has not been publicly disclosed, prompting questions about whether the privatisation of Samruk-Energo’s stake in Kazakhstan’s largest coal enterprise is proceeding with adequate transparency.

    Bogatyr Komir is a major contributor to Kazakhstan’s energy system. Its Bogatyr and Severny open-pit mines in Ekibastuz produced 45.3 million tonnes of coal in 2025 — a 6% increase on 2024 output of 42.7 million tonnes — supplying coal-fired power plants in Astana, Pavlodar, Petropavlovsk, Stepnogorsk, Almaty and Karaganda. The company raised its Ekibastuz coal prices by 30% last year and is planning a further 20% increase in July 2026. A cyclical-flow extraction technology upgrade at the Bogatyr mine is also planned, which is expected to significantly improve profitability.

    The ownership restructuring follows a broader corporate reorganisation in which Forum Muider B.V., previously registered in the Netherlands, was merged into Forum Muider Limited — a company registered in Cyprus in 2023 — which then relocated to the Astana International Financial Centre jurisdiction in late October 2025.

  • Зеленое ресурсное проклятие: Станет ли Центральная Азия сырьевым придатком для электромобилей?

    Зеленое ресурсное проклятие: Станет ли Центральная Азия сырьевым придатком для электромобилей?

    О чем видео: Фокус на глобальном энергетическом переходе и экономике. По мере роста спроса на электромобили и чистую энергию начинается битва за критически важные минералы (литий, кобальт, редкоземельные элементы).

    Ключевые детали: Видео объяснит концепцию «зеленого ресурсного проклятия» — ситуации, когда развивающиеся страны берут на себя весь экологический ущерб от добычи руды, экспортируют ее за бесценок, а затем вынуждены импортировать дорогие готовые технологии. Главной темой станет попытка Казахстана и Узбекистана вырваться из этой ловушки путем создания собственных заводов по переработке и рафинированию (midstream).

    Видео подготовлено по материалам публикации “Central Asia as New Battle Grounds: Critical Mineral Strategies of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan” в Journal of Eurasian Studies.
    https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/18793665261442863

    #CentralAsia #CriticalMinerals #EnergySecurity #Geopolitics #China #GreenResourceCurse

  • Kazakhstan and Turkey Unveil $920 Million Investment Package Spanning Mining, Food Processing and Logistics at Tokayev-Erdoğan Summit

    Kazakhstan and Turkey Unveil $920 Million Investment Package Spanning Mining, Food Processing and Logistics at Tokayev-Erdoğan Summit

    Presidents Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan were presented with a package of joint investment projects during the Kazakhstani-Turkish summit in Astana, with five new initiatives expected to attract more than $920 million in investment and create over 3,100 jobs across Kazakhstan.

    The projects span five regions and multiple sectors. In Abai Region, Turkish mining company Miryıldız plans to build a mining and processing plant — an extension of the company’s existing $480 million gold development programme at the Zhanan deposit. In Almaty, İskefe Holding intends to launch gelatin production. In Turkestan Region, Orzax Group will establish a modern facility for the production of dietary supplements. In Aktobe, S Sistem Lojistik is partnering with Kazpost to create a logistics centre at the city’s international airport. In Astana, Tiryaki Holding will build a plant for the deep processing of wheat and peas.

    Deputy Prime Minister Serik Zhumangarin briefed the two heads of state on the broader trajectory of Turkish investment in Kazakhstan, noting that approximately 100 investment projects involving Turkish companies have already been completed in the country, with a combined value of around $4 billion across various economic sectors. A further 50 joint projects with a total estimated value of approximately $4 billion are currently being implemented, underscoring what Zhumangarin described as a high level of investment interaction between the two countries.