Kazakhstan to open 3 new copper ore deposits
Kazakhstan plans to double its copper ore output by 2030. This was said by Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction Olzhas Saparbekov at the July 22 government meeting, Kazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
Speaking at the meeting, Saparbekov said: “The copper ore output will be doubled to up to 300 million tons thanks to three new major deposits Aidarly, Koksai and Benkala”.
Kazakhstan is set to boost iron ore mining by 40% to up to 52 million tons through increase in domestic processing by Qarmet and launch of projects for production of hot briquetted iron, said the Deputy Minister.
This will facilitate cooper output from 500,000 to 1.2 million tons, hot briquetted iron output to up to 5 million tons, and steel output from 4.1 million to 13 million tons.
According our estimates, a significant amount of metals produced will be processed in the country with the development of high-value products. Thus, the amount of copper processed will reach up to 91,000 tons, aluminum – 163,000 tons, and lead – 81,000 tons, said Saparbekov.
The Deputy Minister went on to add this year, Kazakhstan plans to boost its cooper processing by 2fold, aluminum – 1.5fold, lead – 2.3fold and zinc – 11%.
Earlier, it was reported Kazakhstan implements a major copper exploration project with Ivanhoe Mines Ltd.