PM holds meeting to discuss rare earths industry development

The meeting was held in line with the President’s directive outlined at the Cabinet’s extended session on attraction of advanced technologies and investments, according to primeminister.kz.

President’s Aide for Economic Affairs Kanat Sharlapaev, Minister of Industry and Construction Yersayin Nagaspayev, Chairman of the Board of the Samruk-Kazyna National Wealth Fund Nurlan Zhakupov, and Acting Chairman of NAC Kazatomprom Marat Tulebayev attended the meeting.

The Prime Minister pointed out the need to modernize the existing productions and infrastructure, to expand geological exploration works, to implement cutting-edge processing technologies and to develop research base.

According to the Ministry of Industry and Construction, production of rare and rare earth metals occupies 2.4% in Kazakhstan’s metallurgy industry. Since 2018, state financing of the sector has amounted to 67 billion tenge.

Large-scale geological exploration works are underway on 25 site with a total area of 100,000 square kilometers. 38 promising deposits of solid minerals were discovered in 2024. The geological and geophysical knowledge for the deposit is expected to reach 2 million 38 thousand km² in 2025, and 2.2 million km² in 2026. 

Kazakhstan produces beryllium, tantalum, niobium, scandium, titanium, rhenium, osmium, with bismuth, selenium and tellurium being extracted too. Production and recycling of battery materials, heat-resistant alloys, production of semiconductor materials and recycling of permanent magnets are named as the promising areas.

The Government launches systemic measures to further develop the sector, such as the launch of a comprehensive plan for 2024-2028, allocation of funds for the modernization of Zhezkazganredmet RSE workshop, provision of investors with access to geological information, including on rare and rare earth metals.

Following the meeting, Olzhas Bektenov set a task to concentrate efforts on extensive subsoil exploration, to facilitate the registration and inclusion of man-made mineral formations on the state balance sheet, to develop production of materials for batteries and their recycling, as well as to launch production of heat-resistant nickel alloys.

Special attention was given to the creation of the Regional Research Center for Rare and Rare Earth Metals on the ground of the National Center for Technological Forecasting.

 The production of rare and rare earth metals is of vital importance for modern industry. According to year 2024 data, the global market of rare and rare earth metals has reached 1.6 million tons, with the annual average demand hitting 30% in 2023-2024.

Earlier it was reported that Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov signed a decree to set up an operational headquarters for digital transformation.