MINEX Forum

Website: Kazakhstan.com

  • Kazakhstan and South Korea to Establish High-Tech Materials Research Center for Rare Metals

    Kazakhstan and South Korea to Establish High-Tech Materials Research Center for Rare Metals

    This week, Kazakhstan’s Metallurgy and Enrichment Institute under the Satbayev University and the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology signed a memorandum of cooperation. The partnership aims to establish a research center in Kazakhstan focused on high-temperature and high-activity materials based on rare metals. According to a press release from Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the collaboration will also advance technologies for producing high-quality industrial products.

    Kazakhstani scientists are keen to commercialize domestic innovations related to the extraction of strategically important metals. Meanwhile, South Korean developers will contribute technologies for producing high-tech products using these rare metals.

    The two institutes plan to invest over $10 million in this five-year project, with Kazakhstan’s Minister of Science, Sayasat Nurbek, overseeing its progress personally.

    The ministry also highlighted that the collaboration will include joint scientific seminars and master classes, as well as potential bilateral exchange programs for scientists to effectively develop innovative solutions.

    It is worth noting that last year, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) discovered a major new lithium deposit in Kazakhstan, which is likely to attract foreign investors for its development.

  • Tarutinskoye Company to Begin Copper Ore Mining in Kostanay Region by 2028

    Tarutinskoye Company to Begin Copper Ore Mining in Kostanay Region by 2028

    The Tarutinskoye Company is planning to start mining copper ore in the Karabalyk District of Kazakhstan’s Kostanay Region. The company has been conducting exploration since 2013, as detailed in the mining plan available on Kazakhstan’s Unified Environmental Portal.

    The East Tarutinskoye deposit was added to the state balance of mineral resources in early 2021, with confirmed reserves of 2.226 million tons of ore, containing 22.1 thousand tons of copper (average content of 1.09%), 5.6 tons of silver (average content of 2.76 g/t), and 88.5 kg of gold (average content of 0.39 g/t).

    In addition, off-balance reserves amount to 10 million tons of ore, containing 69.7 thousand tons of copper (0.7%), 27.4 tons of silver (2.81 g/t), and 297.5 kg of gold (1.19 g/t).

    The company plans to extract the ore through open-pit mining across three quarries: South, North 1, and North 2. The estimated period for industrial exploitation is five years, with a maximum annual production capacity of 500 thousand tons of ore.

    Currently, there is no infrastructure, including transportation, in place to support the mining operations. Therefore, extraction at the East Tarutinskoye deposit is not expected to begin until 2028. The company still needs to finalize construction projects for an evaporation pond, an access road, and a rail spur at the Buskul station.

    While the company has not disclosed which factories will process the ore, it has indicated that the most efficient enrichment method has already been selected.

  • Kazakhstan Extends Metal Scrap Export Ban to All Transport Types

    Kazakhstan Extends Metal Scrap Export Ban to All Transport Types

    The Republic’s Ministry of Industry and Construction has extended the export restrictions on scrap and waste of ferrous and non-ferrous metals for another six months. While the previous ban only applied to railway transportation, the new directive now covers all forms of transport, according to Kursiv. The ministry’s order prohibits the export of copper, aluminum, and lead scrap, used lead batteries, waste containing lead, cadmium, or mercury, ferrous metal ingots suitable for remelting, and railway track elements.

    This measure aims to secure raw materials for Kazakhstan’s metallurgical plants. The country is currently focusing on establishing advanced processing clusters, with the deep processing of secondary metals being a crucial step towards this goal. Additionally, the metal scrap export ban is expected to boost the domestic steel industry.

    It should be noted that the ban has faced opposition from third-country buyers of ferrous metal scrap. The Russian Association of Electrometallurgical Enterprises has already voiced its protest.

  • North American Uranium Stocks Surge Following Kazatomprom’s Disappointing Production Outlook

    North American Uranium Stocks Surge Following Kazatomprom’s Disappointing Production Outlook

    Uranium-focused investors in North America are rapidly investing in uranium mining companies after the world’s largest producer, Kazatomprom, released production guidance that fell short of market expectations. Shares in North American uranium miners are experiencing a significant rise in premarket trading after Kazakhstan’s state-owned uranium company announced it would produce between 25,000 tons to 26,500 tons of uranium next year. Although this is an increase compared to 2024 levels, analysts note that it falls short of the company’s subsoil use agreements in Kazakhstan.

    Adam Rodman, founder of Segra Capital Management, commented on Friday that this revised outlook brings the entire production curve down for several years, describing it as a “miss.” Rodman indicated that as a result, he would be increasing investments in North American uranium miners, including companies like NexGen Energy Ltd., where Segra Capital already holds shares.

    US-listed uranium stocks have already begun to soar in response. Cameco Corp. shares rose by as much as 7.2% in premarket trading, NexGen Energy’s US shares surged by nearly 13%, and Uranium Energy Corp. approached a 10% increase.

    Rodman also pointed out that Kazatomprom’s low production guidance might require the company to seek regulatory approval to downgrade its production targets for the year at several key sites. Despite Kazatomprom’s guidance suggesting a 7.1 million pound “ramp-up,” BMO Capital Markets analyst Alexander Pearce noted that the uranium market is expected to remain in a deficit.

  • Coal Production in Kazakhstan Drops by 7.8% in First Seven Months of 2024

    Coal Production in Kazakhstan Drops by 7.8% in First Seven Months of 2024

    Kazakhstan’s coal miners extracted nearly 59.6 million tons of coal from January to July 2024, marking a 7.8% decrease compared to the same period in 2023, according to the Bureau of National Statistics’ monthly report. The majority of this volume was bituminous coal, totaling 57.26 million tons, which saw an 8.6% year-on-year decline.

    The decline in lignite production was even more significant. Brown coal output fell by nearly half, with 1.37 million tonsextracted over seven months. Although July saw a slight production increase compared to June, with 80.4 thousand tonsof lignite produced, this figure remains 68.5% lower than in July 2023.

    Conversely, companies extracting bituminous coal experienced a significant boost in July, increasing production by 23%to 8.73 million tons.

    Additionally, coal enrichment plants in Kazakhstan reported increased activity since the beginning of the year. The country’s processing plants produced 2.33 million tons of coal concentrate, a 14.3% increase compared to the previous year. In July alone, production reached 651 thousand tons, up 3.2% year-on-year.

    On August 20, the Prime Minister’s website published details of a government meeting where the upcoming heating season was discussed. According to the Ministry of Energy, current stockpiles include 3.7 million tons of coal and 90 thousand tons of fuel oil. However, four power stations currently have energy resource reserves below the required level.

  • KazNickel to Begin Cobalt and Nickel Extraction at Gornostayevskoye Deposit

    KazNickel to Begin Cobalt and Nickel Extraction at Gornostayevskoye Deposit

    KazNickel, whose ultimate owner is Kenes Rakishev, has announced plans to commence cobalt and nickel mining at the Gornostayevskoye deposit in the Beskaragay district of the Abay region. According to the company’s latest reports, the sole participant in KazNickel is Battery Metals Technologies LTD, a Singapore-registered entity controlled by Rakishev.

    The Gornostayevskoye deposit, located 100 km west of Semey and 30 km southeast of Kurchatov, has a well-developed infrastructure. The company previously conducted pilot-scale extraction at this site. The new project envisions the development of the left-bank section of the deposit using underground borehole leaching, with an annual production target of 10,000 tons of cobalt and nickel. The left-bank section covers an area of 26.25 square kilometers, and sulfuric acid will be used in the leaching process to extract the valuable ions directly underground without bringing the ore to the surface.

    Between 2026 and 2046, KazNickel plans to drill 32,900 boreholes, each with a depth of 15-40 meters and a diameter of 16.8-24.4 cm. The company will strip the topsoil to a depth of 20 cm before drilling, storing it outside the drilling area.

    In 2022, KazNickel reported plans to begin nickel concentrate production in 2023. The company also noted a significant increase in nickel prices on the global market starting in early 2022. However, the first phase of the project, from 2026 to 2035, is currently the focus. In 2019, KazNickel extended its pilot mining operations until 2022, and the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development began reviewing contract amendments in 2022 to transition to the production phase.

    KazNickel plans to use 19,500 cubic meters of water during the first phase, most of which will be technical water (17,300 cubic meters). The company recorded a loss of 263.3 million tenge in 2022, an improvement from a 1.4 billion tenge loss in 2021, with cumulative losses totaling 3.4 billion tenge by the end of 2022. Its total assets decreased to 3.3 billion tenge at the end of 2022, down from 3.8 billion tenge a year earlier.

    As of December 31, 2022, the Gornostayevskoye deposit’s cobalt-nickel ores had identified mineral resources of 470,300 tons of nickel with an average grade of 0.57% and 32,300 tons of cobalt with an average grade of 0.039%, recognized by the state accounting of Kazakhstan’s subsurface resources.

    To continue the development, KazNickel received loans from related parties — Fincraft Resources and Ertis Ferroalloy Plant. On January 13, 2023, the sole participant decided to admit a new participant, Mining Technologies Company, by redistributing shares. The new participant committed to increasing the company’s charter capital by 4.7 billion tenge, which was 6 billion tenge at the end of 2022, in exchange for a 26% stake. The actual funds were received from Mining Technologies Company in March 2023.

    Kenes Rakishev ranks 19th among Kazakhstan’s wealthiest individuals, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $435 million. He solely owns Fincraft Group, through which he controls 78.85% of Fincraft Resources and BTA Bank.

  • Kazakhstan’s Finance Ministry Proposes Export Duties on Key Mineral Resources to Reduce Budget Deficit

    Kazakhstan’s Finance Ministry Proposes Export Duties on Key Mineral Resources to Reduce Budget Deficit

    Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance is planning to introduce export duties on major types of mineral resources in an effort to reduce the country’s growing budget deficit. According to a report by Bloomberg, the government is expected to make a decision on this initiative by the end of August this year.

    The proposed export taxes would target a range of domestic products, including coal, copper and iron ores, metal concentrates, ferroalloys, sulfur, and others. While the final list of taxable products has yet to be determined, it is expected to include those resources that would generate the most revenue for the state.

    Local media will be provided with the official list only after a consensus is reached between the National Chamber of Entrepreneurs “Atameken” and government bodies. At that point, the government will also finalize the exact rates for the export duties.

    This initiative by the Ministry of Finance is not entirely new. Discussions about imposing such duties began a year ago, with the project initially justified as a means to stimulate the domestic processing of ferrous metals. Currently, only oil and alloy exporters are subject to such payments.

    Kazakhstan’s budget is in urgent need of additional revenue. By the end of the first quarter of 2024, the deficit had reached 1 trillion tenge (a 24.2% increase year-on-year). In June, former Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov described the deficit as chronic and criticized the inefficient use of public funds.

  • EBRD Makes First Direct Investment in Central Asia’s Graphite Sector

    EBRD Makes First Direct Investment in Central Asia’s Graphite Sector

    The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has made its first direct equity investment in the graphite and critical raw materials sector in Central Asia by acquiring a stake in Sarytogan Graphite Limited. This Australian Securities Exchange-listed company is engaged in the exploration of the Sarytogan graphite depositlocated in the Karaganda region of central Kazakhstan.

    The EBRD’s investment of AUD 5 million (€3 million), representing a 17.36 per cent shareholding in Sarytogan Graphite, will fund the company’s development programme. This includes the preparation of a feasibility study and meeting its working capital needs. Through this investment, the EBRD continues its support for Kazakhstan’s mining sector and its junior mining companies.

    Graphite, classified as a critical raw material (CRM) by the EU, has a wide range of applications, including in the production of electric vehicle batteries, the electric power industry, and metallurgy. The Sarytogan graphite depositis one of the largest known graphite deposits globally, with the potential to become a major supplier of natural graphitein the region and beyond.

    This project aligns with the EBRD’s new mining sector strategy, which emphasizes the importance of the mining industry in fostering greener economies. The strategy supports the exploration, development, production, and processing of metals and minerals essential for the green and digital transition and new technologies.

    Additionally, the project is consistent with the EU-Kazakhstan strategic partnership on raw materials, batteries, and renewable hydrogen. The EBRD’s investment is a continuation of its policy work with Kazakhstan authorities, which has already led to the adoption of the new Subsoil Use Law.

    To date, the EBRD has invested €10.2 billion in 324 projects in Kazakhstan, primarily supporting private entrepreneurship.

  • Zijin Mining Group Discusses Major Mining Projects in Kazakhstan

    Zijin Mining Group Discusses Major Mining Projects in Kazakhstan

    Zijin Mining Group Co., Ltd recently held discussions with Kazakhstan’s Deputy Foreign Minister and representatives from Kazakh Invest regarding potential projects in the mining and metallurgical industry. The foreign investor plans to open a processing plant in the republic, according to a report from the Kazakh Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

    The new facility is expected to produce concentrates of precious and non-ferrous metals. However, this project is likely to be a long-term endeavor, as Zijin Mining is still in the process of identifying a suitable mineral resource basefor the plant.

    The company has expressed its readiness to develop Kazakhstan’s gold, copper, and polymetallic deposits. The specific region for the project has yet to be determined.

    The concentrates produced by the new processing plant are intended to be sent to local metallurgical plants for the extraction of valuable metals. An initial investment of $100 million is planned for the project, which is expected to create at least 1,000 new jobs in the republic.

    Additionally, Zijin Mining plans to engage in geological exploration of new prospective areas. The Kazakh authorities, keen on expanding the country’s mineral resource base, are prepared to offer state-level support to their Chinese partner.

    Zijin Mining is a multinational mining conglomerate that operates over 30 projects in 12 countries. Last year, the company’s assets produced 720,000 tons of copper and 250 tons of refined gold.

  • Quarmet инвестирует $1,48 млрд в проекты по железной руде и углю к 2025 году

    Quarmet инвестирует $1,48 млрд в проекты по железной руде и углю к 2025 году

    В ближайшие годы компания собирается потратить $1,48 млрд на проекты железорудного и угольного департаментов. Из этой суммы $500 млн будет выделено на развитие железорудного подразделения, и $978 млн — на угольное. Об этом стало известно после визита президента Касыма-Жомарта Токаева на металлургический комбинат.

    На официальном сайте главы республики сообщается, что руководство предприятия уже внедрило ряд преобразований в производстве и поделилось планами на будущее. С момента перехода комбината к новому инвестору был реализован ряд крупных проектов общей стоимостью свыше $3,5 млрд.

    Программа реновации завода на 2024 год включает более сотни объектов и замену 50 тыс. квадратных метров кровли. Кроме того, будут отремонтированы санитарно-бытовые объекты.

    Касым-Жомарту Токаеву продемонстрировали работу конверторного цеха №2 и машин непрерывного литья заготовок. В дальнейшем Qarmet планирует модернизировать системы управления и гидравлики на этом участке.

    Компания запустила программу «5-9-5»: 5 млн тонн стали, 9 млн тонн угля и 5 млн тонн железорудного концентрата ежегодно. Таким образом, к 2025 году мощности металлургического завода вырастут на 66% по сравнению с прошлым годом.

    В 2023 году добыча угля велась только на трёх шахтах; сейчас Qarmet управляет восемью шахтами в Казахстане. В следующем году все объекты будут оснащены системами позиционирования.

    Президент Токаев резюмировал, что власти приняли «правильное решение», пригласив казахстанского инвестора управлять компанией. Он поручил «возродить былую славу» металлургического комбината.