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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.
Exporters in Uzbekistan have begun sending products made of Uzbek copper to Mexico and the U.S., according to the Nigoh Telegram channel. In January and February, Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Combine exported goods valued at $82 million dollars, fulfilling 101.3% of their forecasted capacity. Among the various products there were 7,300 tons of copper products, 4,600 tons of zinc metal, and 132 tons of molybdenum products. Items from the Almalyk plant are exported to more than 20 countries, and the geographic reach of their exports is expanding. In 2023 the company added two new markets for copper products in the Americas -- the U.S. and Mexico -- as well as a new European buyer, Finland.
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction says that the Obukhovskoye deposit, which is located in the North Kazakhstan region, has been put up for auction. The sale of the titanium-zirconium deposit will be held electronically on May 15th. All three sections of the deposit will go on the auction block. The Obukhovskoye deposit may prove to be a very valuable asset due to its high-percentage concentration of minerals in the ore. Until 2021 the location belonged to a company called Tioline, which ended up losing its license due to violations of its financial and investment obligations. In February this year one of the co-owners of the Obukhovskoye mine, Viktor Dolgalev, was arrested -- he is accused of misuse of subsoil resources, tax evasion and illegal receipt of funds in excess of 26bn tenge (~$58m). These events have led to the current situation, in which the project needs a new investor who can prove their ability to execute a sustainable ore extraction and processing plan at the site. The Ministry of Industry and Construction has already disclosed that the size of the minimum bid for the signing bonus -is 1.85m tenge ($4,132). The company who submits the winning bid will be obliged to supply raw materials from the deposit to local producers at reduced prices -- to restore the project after the substandard work of the past license holder -- and to comply with environmental regulations. It will also be obliged to support the Kazakhstani market by using at least 60% locally-sourced goods and services in its work.
In 2023 Kyrgyzstan’s foreign trade turnover reached $15.6bn, an increase of 29.9% compared to 2022. The country’s imports grew by 26% to $12.3bn and exports increased by 46.8% to $3.3bn, the National Statistical Committee has reported. This means that in 2023 Kyrgyzstan imported $9bn worth of goods more than exported. Kyrgyzstan’s trade with fellow members of the Eurasian Economic Union, which also includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia, amounted to $4.3bn. Gold accounted for the lion’s share of Kyrgyzstan's exports — 38.8% of the total. In 2023 Kyrgyzstan sold more than 20 tons of gold. Almost half of all goods imported to Kyrgyzstan last year came from China. Russia was in second place, followed by neighboring Central Asian countries, Turkey, the USA, and South Korea.
Kazakhstan produces 19 of the 34 critical raw materials listed by the European Union, its Ministry of Industry and Construction reported on February 6th. Kazakhstani manufacturers currently supply the European market with metal and chemical products including beryllium, tantalum, titanium, phosphorus, and ammonium metavanadate. Kazakhstan is among the world’s 10 largest copper producers. The country also has the potential to establish a cluster for the production of battery raw materials such as nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium, which are essential for the production of electric vehicles. In November 2023 in Brussels, Belgium, a delegation from Kazakhstan, headed by the minister for industry and construction, Kanat Sharlapaev, participated in the European Commission’s ‘Raw Materials Week’. The event addressed the memorandum of understanding between Kazakhstan and the EU on strategic partnership in the field of sustainable raw materials, batteries, and value chains in renewable hydrogen. The EU remains one of Kazakhstan’s leading trade, economic, and investment partners, accounting for about 30% of its foreign trade turnover, which was $37.7bn between January and November 2023.
