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.
