MINEX Forum

Tag: Bogatyr Komir

  • Qatar-Linked Primet Confirmed as Buyer of Kazakhstan’s Largest Coal Mine as Bogatyr Targets 58.5 Million Tonne Output by 2032

    Qatar-Linked Primet Confirmed as Buyer of Kazakhstan’s Largest Coal Mine as Bogatyr Targets 58.5 Million Tonne Output by 2032

    The sale of Bogatyr Komir, Kazakhstan’s largest coal producer, to Qatar-linked Primet LLC is underway, with the head of the joint venture confirming the process at the coal forum held as part of the Astana Mining and Metallurgy Congress. CEO Yevgeny Masternak confirmed the transaction is in progress but declined to specify a completion date. “Everything is in process, everything is in process,” he said.

    As previously reported, Samruk-Energo and Rusal’s Miradore Enterprises Limited each saw their stakes in Forum Muider Limited — the holding company for Bogatyr Komir — diluted from 50% to 35% from September 2025 through an undisclosed share issuance in favour of Primet LLC. Samruk-Energo has since agreed to sell its remaining 35% stake, with completion expected in 2026. According to Elmedia, citing Intelligence Online, Primet’s founders include Lebanese banker Joseph Nazih Karam, affiliated with Oleg Deripaska, and UAE-based Prime Mining and Energy.

    Samruk-Energo declined to provide information about the total transaction value or the legality of the share issuance, citing commercial confidentiality provisions. The Ministry of Energy said it had not yet received documentation on the transfer of subsoil use rights for the Bogatyr and Severny open-pit mines to the new owner.

    The incoming owner is entering a period of rising coal prices and ambitious production expansion. Bogatyr Komir raised its Ekibastuz coal price by 30% in 2025 and a further 20% increase is expected from July 2026. The price increases affect power stations and district heating plants in Astana, Pavlodar, Karaganda, Almaty, Petropavlovsk and Stepnogorsk — cities whose electricity and heat generation is tied to Ekibastuz coal.

    Masternak’s forum presentation outlined plans to increase annual coal output from 45.2 million tonnes in 2026 to 58.5 million tonnes by 2032, driven by the planned commissioning of new power generation capacity — including the Kokshetau CHP, the third and fourth units of Ekibastuzskaya GRES-2, and Ekibastuzskaya GRES-3 — all of which are designed to run on Bogatyr coal. The cyclical flow technology implementation, financed with a €197 million loan from the Eurasian Development Bank, is also contributing to productivity gains. Masternak noted that more than half the EBRD loan had already been repaid.

    Capital investment plans for 2026 to 2032 total 360 billion tenge, covering equipment procurement, technology implementation and reconstruction. The company plans to purchase 57 dump trucks, 13 excavators and 19 auxiliary vehicles in the period. Analysts note, however, that if new power stations are delayed — as frequently occurs in Kazakhstan — the anticipated volume growth may not materialise, meaning the investment costs would fall on consumers through higher tariffs without the offsetting unit cost reductions that higher output would provide.

    Bogatyr Komir accounts for nearly 40% of Kazakhstan’s total coal production and holds a dominant position as the primary coal supplier to power stations and CHP plants across northern and central Kazakhstan. The company’s market position means consumers have limited alternatives in the near term.

  • 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.

  • Kazakhstan Coal Output Declines in January Amid Long-Term Power Expansion Plans

    Kazakhstan Coal Output Declines in January Amid Long-Term Power Expansion Plans

    Coal production in Kazakhstan declined in January 2026 despite the government’s long-term plans to expand coal-fired power generation capacity.

    According to official statistics, output of thermal coal reached 9.92 million tonnes in January, down 1.7% compared to the same period last year. Total coal production, including coking grades, amounted to 10.31 million tonnes, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 0.7%.

    The modest start to the year comes as the government prepares a coal power development programme through 2030, which предусматривает the commissioning and modernisation of approximately 7.6 GW of thermal power capacity.

    In 2023–2024, Kazakhstan’s thermal power plants consumed around 55 million tonnes of coal annually. With the rollout of new energy projects, additional demand could rise by up to 16 million tonnes per year, requiring increased output and more stable supply chains.

    Bogaty r Komir, the country’s largest private coal producer, plans to raise production to 45.2 million tonnes in 2026 and further expand to 56.5 million tonnes by 2032. The company’s primary resource base is the Ekibastuz deposit, which holds estimated reserves of approximately 2.4 billion tonnes.

    For full-year 2025, Kazakhstan’s total coal production reached 115.9 million tonnes, marking an increase of around 6.5% compared with the previous year.