A copper smelting plant with a capacity of 300,000 tons of copper per year is to be built in Kazakhstan’s eastern Abay region, according to a government press release.
An agreement for the plant’s construction has bee signed by KAZ Minerals Smelting LLP, the customer, and China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC), a design services supplier and process equipment procurement company. NFC Kazakhstan LLP will also be involved as a construction and commissioning work contractor.
The plant will be built near the village of Aktogay. The raw materials will be the copper concentrate from Vostoktsvetmet LLP’s Bozshakol and Aktogay mining and processing plants.
“Following the plant’s construction, a cluster will be created, combining one of the world’s largest copper mines and modern copper smelting production. With a preliminary cost of $1.5 billion, the project will create more than 1,000 new jobs. It is planned to be put into operation by the end of 2028,” the press release says.
The high-tech enterprise for producing high-value-added products will be the largest in the country. The applied technologies in copper smelting production meet world environmental standards.
The enterprise will provide the internal market needs for processing copper-containing raw materials and copper cathode.
“It should be noted that cathode copper is widely used in the electric power industry, machine building, and other industrial sectors. In addition, the new plant plans to produce refined gold, silver, and sulfuric acid,” the release added.
