Kazakhstan is interested in processing Afghan technical aquamarine and zinc ore at its own facilities, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin has said. He spoke during talks in Kabul with Afghanistan’s acting Prime Minister Mohammad Hassan Akhund and acting Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Ghani Baradar.
Kazakhstan holds a key position in Central Asia’s mining and metallurgical sector as an industrial and technological hub.
According to Kazakhstan’s government, the country is among the few in the world with expertise in processing technical aquamarine, a beryllium-bearing mineral. Against this backdrop, Kazakh companies are showing growing interest in Afghanistan’s mineral resource development and industrial projects.
During the meeting with Afghanistan’s deputy prime minister, the Kazakh side raised the issue of exporting the mineral from Afghanistan for processing in Kazakhstan, according to the Kazakh government’s press service.
In October last year, specialists from Kazakhstan’s state mining company Tau-Ken Samruk visited Afghanistan’s Bamyan province, where they collected samples at the Pami-Kakrak zinc deposit.
Subsequent chemical analysis by specialists from Kazzinc indicated that the ore could in principle be processed at Kazakh facilities.
“We are interested in importing zinc ore from Afghanistan. Kazakhstan’s enterprises have the necessary expertise in technological modernization, engineering, equipment supply, and commissioning support,” Zhumangarin said.
Kazakhstan’s Eurasian Resources Group, one of the world’s largest ferrochrome producers, has also expressed interest in exploring and developing Afghanistan’s chromite deposits.
The two sides also discussed transport and logistics cooperation.
“We support the implementation of the Trans-Afghan transport corridor, Central Asia-South Asia, which could facilitate the movement of up to 10 million tons of cargo toward the Pakistani ports of Karachi and Gwadar. We are also ready, together with Uzbek and Turkmen partners, to participate in the construction of railways through Mazar-i-Sharif and Turgundi to Herat,” Zhumangarin said.
According to Kazakhstan’s government, bilateral trade between Kazakhstan and Afghanistan totaled $541.8 million in 2025, with authorities aiming to increase trade turnover to $3 billion in the near term.
The talks fit into Kazakhstan’s broader policy of practical engagement with Afghanistan’s Taliban-led authorities, focused on trade, transit, mining, humanitarian aid and education rather than formal diplomatic recognition. Kazakhstan removed the Taliban from its list of banned organizations in 2023, while continuing to frame Afghanistan as both an export market and a possible route for Central Asian cargo toward South Asian ports.
As previously reported by The Times of Central Asia, Kazakh geologists visited Afghanistan in April 2025 to collect samples containing beryllium, lead, and zinc from prospective mining sites in Nuristan province.
