MINEX Forum

Website: Asia.com

  • China Eyes Coal Waste as New Source of Critical Minerals

    China Eyes Coal Waste as New Source of Critical Minerals

    China is exploring the recovery of critical minerals from coal waste, with researchers highlighting fly ash and coal gangue as potential sources of strategic metals including germanium, gallium, lithium and aluminum.

    According to a new report, China’s extensive coal mining and power generation infrastructure could be leveraged to recover valuable metals from by-products that have traditionally been treated as industrial waste.

    “The coal refuse contains a variety of metal elements and could become an important source of critical metal supply,” said Dai Shifeng, a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and professor at the China University of Mining and Technology-Beijing.

    Coal gangue refers to the rock separated from coal during mining, while fly ash is the fine mineral residue left after coal combustion. Although typically disposed of or used in construction materials such as cement, both materials can contain economically valuable concentrations of critical minerals and rare earth elements.

    Researchers argue that China’s integrated coal industry provides a strong foundation for resource recovery. Existing coal washing, chemical processing and power generation facilities could potentially be adapted to extract strategic metals from waste streams, reducing the need for additional mining.

    The approach could support China’s growing demand for critical minerals used in semiconductors, batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies and defence applications, while also improving resource efficiency and reducing industrial waste.

    However, the report notes that commercial recovery remains technically challenging. Metal concentrations vary significantly depending on the geological characteristics of individual coal deposits, and fly ash from different coal sources is often blended during power generation, resulting in inconsistent feedstock quality that can affect the economic viability of extraction.

    Researchers nevertheless believe rising demand for critical minerals will continue to improve the prospects for recovering metals from coal waste, building on China’s existing experience in extracting germanium from coal-related resources.

  • Kazakhstan and South Korea to Establish Rare Earth Research Centre in Almaty

    Kazakhstan and South Korea to Establish Rare Earth Research Centre in Almaty

    Satbayev University, in partnership with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH) and the Korea National Institute of Rare Metals (KORAM), will establish a Kazakh-Korean Centre for Rare and Rare Earth Metals Research at the Institute of Metallurgy and Ore Beneficiation in Almaty.

    During a joint meeting, representatives of the three institutions discussed the next stages of the project, including the installation of advanced scientific equipment and future areas of research and technological cooperation.

    According to the Korean partners, the new centre will serve as a leading research platform for training highly qualified specialists in rare and rare earth metals, while providing Kazakh researchers with access to state-of-the-art laboratory facilities and expanding opportunities for scientific research and technology development.

    Satbayev University Rector Professor Meiram Begentayev said the initiative would combine the scientific expertise of Kazakhstan and South Korea to advance technologies for the deep processing of strategic mineral resources, strengthen research capabilities and support the development of internationally competitive specialists.

    The project aligns with Kazakhstan’s strategy to expand value-added processing of mineral resources. The country is currently a global supplier of 21 of the 34 minerals identified as critical raw materials.

    The centre is expected to become one of Kazakhstan’s first specialised full-cycle research and technology facilities dedicated to rare and rare earth metals. It will focus on developing environmentally friendly technologies for producing high- and ultra-high-purity rare metals and rare earth elements, with research progressing through pilot testing to industrial implementation.

    In addition to technology development, the centre will conduct both fundamental and applied research, as well as pilot-scale testing of new technologies for the integrated processing of primary mineral resources and secondary industrial materials.

  • Uzbekistan to Establish Project Office to Oversee Steel Industry and Scrap Metal Market

    Uzbekistan to Establish Project Office to Oversee Steel Industry and Scrap Metal Market

    Uzbekistan will establish a dedicated project office under the government to oversee the country’s ferrous metallurgy sector, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev announced during a meeting on the industry’s development.

    The new office is expected to begin operations within one month. In addition, an electronic platform, E-lom, will be launched at the beginning of August to monitor the circulation of ferrous metals across the country.

    The project office will conduct daily analysis of the steel market, compile data on supply and demand for raw materials and finished metal products, and maintain digital passports for metal products. Through the E-lom platform, all transactions involving ferrous metals will be tracked in real time.

    According to the government, the new measures are designed to promote fair competition, stabilize prices and strengthen oversight of the steel sector by increasing transparency throughout the supply chain.

    Officials also highlighted the importance of improving scrap metal collection. The Bekabad Metallurgical Plant currently produces around 40% of its rolled steel using recycled scrap, while the remaining 60% relies on imported raw materials. Each year, the plant receives approximately 700,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap, but an estimated additional 500,000 tonnes remains outside the formal market, circulating through the shadow economy.

    The government expects that tighter monitoring and digital tracking will help bring more scrap into the legal supply chain, reducing reliance on imports and improving raw material availability for domestic steel production.

  • Stop dawdling: Central Asia’s critical minerals revolution is here (Amir Abidov, RM#11)

    Stop dawdling: Central Asia’s critical minerals revolution is here (Amir Abidov, RM#11)

    🎙️ “Stop dawdling: Central Asia’s critical minerals revolution is here” (Raw Matters podcast Episode #11, with Amir Abidov)

    Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan are ready to do CRM business with the EU but will not wait forever. Europe must decide quickly. Get on the bus or get left behind.

    Some hard talk by Amir Abidov (UzTMK) in the Raw Matters podcast (Episode #11), hosted by Peter Tom Jones and Julia Poliscanova.

    After months of posts, debates, MoU’s and Julia’s jokes about my “Central Asia obsession”, we finally bring Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan into the centre of Europe’s critical minerals narrative – where they belong.

    For this episode we welcomed Amir Abidov, Deputy Chairman of TMK (Uzbekistan Technological Metals Complex), the massive state-led CRM company in Uzbekistan (population: 39 million). Getting Amir into the studio was a journey in itself, involving last-minute travel across Europe, a stop at Neo Performance Materials Silmet in Estonia, excessive heat, and a shared determination to make sure Central Asia speaks for itself in the EU CRM debate.

    We open with the big picture: both Uzbekistan and #Kazakhstan have signed Strategic Partnerships with the EU. Both are rich in critical minerals. Both are moving fast. And both are ready to do business with Europe – now. The question is whether Europe can keep up.

    With Amir, we explore Uzbekistan’s resource potential. We compare UZ and KZ – two neighbours with different strategies, different industrial legacies, and a different energy basis.

    A key theme is the Green Resource Curse and how Uzbekistan can overcome it. Or better: how it is already taking massive strides in overcoming it. Amir explains how Uzbekistan is building real midstream and downstream cleantech capacity rather than just exporting raw materials.

    We then confront the geopolitical reality: Can Europe offer a credible, respectful, win‑win collaboration model – or will it miss the bus? We compare the Chinese, US and EU approaches, discuss the CRMA, and outline what Uzbekistan actually expects from Europe: technology transfer, expertise and offtake. We also touch on the role of bottom‑up collaboration with research centres (such as SOLVOMET R&T Centre (KU Leuven)’s collaboration on rare-earth SX with UzTMK) as a complement to top‑down EU policy. In the ideal world both strategies support each other.

    This episode is a wake‑up call for all Europeans. We need to recalibrate our position in the world, be more humble and react faster. Europe must decide whether it wants to be on the bus, or watch it drive away.

  • Azzuro Resources Intercepts 21m at 1.70% Copper and 0.85g/t Gold at Mongolia’s Red Hill VMS Discovery as Shallow Gold Zone Extends to 600 Metres

    Azzuro Resources Intercepts 21m at 1.70% Copper and 0.85g/t Gold at Mongolia’s Red Hill VMS Discovery as Shallow Gold Zone Extends to 600 Metres

    Azzuro Resources has reported a second batch of assay results from its 2026 drilling programme at the Red Hill copper-gold project in southwestern Mongolia, with hole MU2603 returning 21.45 metres at 1.70% copper, 0.85 grams per tonne gold, 16.86 grams per tonne silver and 0.21% zinc from 83.2 metres — confirming a thick massive sulphide zone with higher copper grades than the comparable 2025 due diligence hole drilled up-dip from the same system.

    The interval includes a higher-grade core of 8.0 metres at 3.27% copper, 1.04 grams gold, 18.09 grams silver and 0.20% zinc from 95 metres. The hole also returned subsidiary mineralised intervals beneath the main lens, including a semi-massive sulphide vein grading 2.67% copper from 126.95 metres, suggesting the system extends beyond a single narrow intercept.

    MU2602, drilled to test the eastern extension beneath a surface hydrothermal breccia, returned an 18.25-metre copper zone averaging 0.67% copper from 68.75 metres, including a four-metre high-grade sub-interval at 1.51% copper, alongside a separate shallow gold zone of 12 metres averaging 0.74 grams gold from 19 metres and a three-metre interval at 1.58 grams gold.

    Reverse circulation drilling north of the main volcanogenic massive sulphide system is defining a near-surface oxide gold-silver zone that Azzuro says may extend across approximately 600 metres of strike. Two of three RC holes returned gold intersections: MURC02 hit 5.0 metres at 0.63 grams gold from five metres, and MURC03 returned 9.0 metres at 0.59 grams gold and 4.17 grams silver from surface.

    Managing Director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren said the MU2603 results exceeded expectations and reinforced confidence in a substantial high-grade copper-gold VMS system, while the shallow gold zone adds meaningful exploration optionality. Nine additional diamond holes remain pending, with assays expected in July alongside integration of geology, drilling and geophysical datasets including DHEM, gravity, resistivity and chargeability results.

    Azzuro completed its 100% acquisition of the Red Hill project in April 2026. The mining licence covers 79.14 hectares and is valid to 2045.

  • Rio Tinto Cuts Fees and Loan Interest at $18bn Oyu Tolgoi Mine After Mongolian Pressure and Protests

    Rio Tinto Cuts Fees and Loan Interest at $18bn Oyu Tolgoi Mine After Mongolian Pressure and Protests

    Rio Tinto has agreed new financial terms for the $18 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia, cutting its management fees for the project by 50% and reducing the interest rate on its multibillion-dollar loan to the Mongolian government by 2.5 percentage points, following months of negotiation under mounting political pressure.

    The agreement follows Mongolian officials describing earlier terms as “unfair” and claiming the country was “being deceived” over its single biggest mining project and largest foreign investment. It also arrives as copper prices trade near record highs, raising the stakes around future payouts from the mine, which is expected to produce approximately 500,000 tonnes of copper annually.

    Rio Tinto chair Dominic Barton and head of copper Katie Jackson met Mongolian Prime Minister Uchral Nyam-Osor in Ulan Bator on Tuesday to sign the deal. Jackson said the agreement “demonstrates Rio Tinto’s ongoing commitment to the long-term success of Oyu Tolgoi,” with the reduced interest rate reflecting lower project risk as it matures. The Mongolian government declined to comment.

    The new terms add to a long history of renegotiation at Oyu Tolgoi, under construction for nearly 17 years. Four years ago Rio agreed to waive approximately $2.4 billion of the government’s loan as both sides pledged to “reset” the relationship — a truce that has not held, with elections due next year raising political stakes further. Two weeks ago, protesters successfully disrupted exports from the mine, forcing a halt to concentrate shipments for nearly a day.

    One unresolved issue is when Mongolia, which holds a 34% stake in the project against Rio’s 66%, will begin receiving dividends. Cost overruns and delays have pushed the expected start date from 2017 to around 2037. Rio said it would “bring forward distributions to shareholders” without committing to a specific date.

    RBC analyst Ben Davis described the agreement as “just about a net positive” for Rio, while cautioning that concerns remain over how long it will hold given Mongolia’s volatile political environment and the risk the government will seek a larger share of project economics. Separately, Rio is facing a Mongolian tax probe alleging approximately $450 million in underpayment related to depreciation accounting during 2021 and 2022, a dispute currently proceeding through the courts.

  • China Deepens Central Asia Engagement Across Nuclear, Mining and Trade as Kazakhstan Approves Civil Nuclear Cooperation Protocol

    China Deepens Central Asia Engagement Across Nuclear, Mining and Trade as Kazakhstan Approves Civil Nuclear Cooperation Protocol

    China’s National Energy Administration chief Wang Hongzhi visited Kazakhstan to attend the inaugural meeting of the Kazakhstan-China Joint Working Group on Cooperation in Civil Nuclear Energy, with participants approving a protocol defining the framework for future nuclear cooperation. The development follows Kazakhstan’s selection of China’s National Nuclear Corporation to build two large-scale reactors, while Russia’s Rosatom has separately been contracted to build Kazakhstan’s first nuclear plant on the shores of Lake Balkhash.

    The nuclear meeting was one of several significant developments across the region reflecting China’s intensifying economic and institutional engagement with Central Asia.

    In Kazakhstan, Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer Midea Group opened a representative office in Almaty, establishing a local operations team, warehouse complex and logistics hub to serve Central Asian markets directly rather than through third-party distributors. The China-Kazakhstan Trade and Economic Cooperation Forum in Astana saw the launch of the Jiangsu Province Center for Central Asia — a unified service hub for Chinese companies — alongside agreements to increase Kazakhstani wheat, meat and honey exports to Jiangsu Province.

    In Kyrgyzstan, China’s Nerin Engineering was selected as chief contractor for development of the Togolok gold deposit, including construction of a processing plant and tailings facility, under the Kumtor Gold Company. The Kyrgyz National Investment Fund and Shenzhen Wuyou Technology also signed agreements to introduce electric scooters and charging infrastructure.

    In Uzbekistan, Chinese company Zhongjin Guantai Industrial Development expressed intent to invest $2 billion in the mining sector, $1 billion in energy projects and $300 to $500 million in infrastructure and tourism. Uzbekistan’s state uranium producer Navoiyuran and China’s State Nuclear Uranium Resources Development agreed to establish a joint working group covering geological exploration and unconventional uranium deposit development. Uzeltekhsanoat Association and China’s Electronics Enterprises Association signed a memorandum on home appliance component production and Physical AI technologies, while separate Chinese agreements covered sustainable forestry, water-saving irrigation and agricultural investment.

    In Tajikistan, Dangara State University signed an agreement to establish a Confucius Institute on campus. In Turkmenistan, China’s ambassador held discussions with parliamentarians about organising Chinese-led legislative seminars for MPs from across Central Asia.

  • Anglo Asian Mining Launches 90,000-Metre Drilling Programme Across Azerbaijan’s Kharxar, Garadagh and Gadabay Deposits

    Anglo Asian Mining Launches 90,000-Metre Drilling Programme Across Azerbaijan’s Kharxar, Garadagh and Gadabay Deposits

    Anglo Asian Mining has announced an expanded 90,000-metre drilling programme across several of its Azerbaijan deposits over 2026 and 2027, as the company works to increase resource estimates and advance key projects toward feasibility and mine development.

    The programme comprises approximately 55,000 metres of exploration drilling and 35,000 metres of feasibility drilling. Drilling operations using two rigs have already commenced at the Kharxar deposit, with work at Garadagh scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2026. Additional drilling is planned within the Gadabay contract area and at the Demirli mine and South Demirli deposit. Underground drilling has also started at the Gilar deposit, focusing on upper mineralised horizons and potential extensions of ore bodies at depth.

    The feasibility component allocates approximately 10,000 metres at Kharxar and 25,000 metres at Garadagh for geological confirmation, geotechnical analysis, hydrogeological studies, metallurgical testing and quality control — work that will feed directly into updated resource assessments and future mine development plans.

    Kharxar, located approximately 1.5 kilometres north of the Gadabay contract area, has been the subject of extensive exploration in recent years. A JORC-compliant resource estimate has confirmed 119,100 tonnes of contained copper at the site. Garadagh, adjacent to Kharxar, has emerged as the company’s most significant copper asset, with a preliminary JORC-compliant resource estimate published in 2024 confirming approximately 900,000 tonnes of contained copper — a figure that positions it as potentially one of the most important copper developments in Azerbaijan’s mining sector.

  • Uzbekistan Mining Ministry Meets Turkey’s ESAN Eczacıbaşı to Advance Investment and Strengthen Strategic Mining Partnership

    Uzbekistan Mining Ministry Meets Turkey’s ESAN Eczacıbaşı to Advance Investment and Strengthen Strategic Mining Partnership

    Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Mining Industry and Geology has held talks with Turkish industrial minerals company ESAN Eczacıbaşı to review ongoing cooperation and identify new investment opportunities, as Tashkent continues its drive to attract foreign capital and modernise its mining sector through regulatory reform and expanded geological exploration.

    The meeting between Minister Bobir Islamov and ESAN Eczacıbaşı executives followed the fifth Tashkent International Investment Forum, where Uzbekistan showcased investment opportunities across mining, energy and infrastructure to international participants. The discussions covered Uzbekistan’s ongoing mining sector reforms, investor-friendly legislative measures introduced in recent years, and outcomes of the forum.

    The parties reviewed the status of projects currently being implemented in Uzbekistan with ESAN Eczacıbaşı, discussed future development plans, and explored opportunities to deepen their strategic partnership. Both sides reaffirmed interest in expanding cooperation and advancing joint initiatives.

    “Uzbekistan’s ongoing mining reforms, improved investment climate and the success of the 5th Tashkent International Investment Forum are creating new opportunities for international partnerships and long-term investment in the sector,” the ministry said.

    ESAN Eczacıbaşı is one of Turkey’s leading industrial minerals and mining companies, active in the extraction, processing and international trade of minerals used in ceramics, glass, chemicals and related industries. The company has been expanding its international footprint through mining investments and strategic partnerships in recent years.

  • Chinese-Linked Dengbo Success Minerals Plans Underground Copper-Zinc Mine in East Kazakhstan With Production Starting 2028

    Chinese-Linked Dengbo Success Minerals Plans Underground Copper-Zinc Mine in East Kazakhstan With Production Starting 2028

    Dengbo Success Minerals Ltd is planning to develop the Novo-Berezovskoye copper-zinc deposit in the Glubokovskoye District of East Kazakhstan Region through underground mining, with ore extraction scheduled to begin in 2028 and a total mine life of 13 years, according to project documentation published for public consultation.

    The deposit is located 54 kilometres northwest of Ust-Kamenogorsk and 1.2 kilometres from the village of Verkhneberezovka, adjacent to a railway line. The mine plan envisages annual ore extraction of 300,000 tonnes in 2028 rising to 500,000 tonnes in 2029 and a peak rate of 700,000 tonnes per year from 2030 to 2034, before declining to 395,000 tonnes in 2035 and entering a three-year wind-down phase from 2036.

    The deposit contains eight primary ore bodies with a predominantly northwest strike and dip angles of 40 to 75 degrees. The ore bodies extend more than 2,000 metres along strike and have been traced to an average depth of 750 metres, with the majority of reserves concentrated below 80 metres from surface. Total ore volume is estimated at 4,695,000 tonnes with grades of 1.67% copper, 4.85% zinc, 1.67% lead and 0.3 grams per tonne gold — grades the project documentation describes as favourable.

    Dengbo Success Minerals Ltd is owned by Xinjiang Dengbo New Energy Co. Ltd, a Chinese company that provides silicon core processing services for the photovoltaic industry. The company’s director is listed as Jin Sheng in the Kazakhstani public registry adata.kz.

    The Novo-Berezovskoye deposit was offered at auction by Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry in 2025. Chinese companies have been active participants in Kazakhstan’s metals deposit auctions in recent years.