Production and extraction

Mining and Metallurgical Industry

Joint Stock Company “National Mining Company “Tau-Ken Samruk” (hereinafter – JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk) is a vertically integrated company established in 2009. The main objectives of the company are to promote the economic and strategic interests of the state in the management of state assets of the mining and metallurgical industry and the development of the mineral resource complex of the country.

The mission of the company is to contribute to the development of the individual sectors of mining and metallurgical industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan by means of the projects implementation in collaboration with strategic investors.

The mining and metallurgical complex remains one of the most competitive and dynamically developing sectors of the economy of Kazakhstan. The 2022 is marked by the development of the global crisis. The trends in the development of the world and Kazakhstan mining and metallurgical industry were determined by the slowdown in the pace of development of the world economy and geopolitical tensions, with a downward trend in metal prices on the world market.

Despite the negative trends in the global and domestic economy, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk made every effort to implement the planned activities of the company’s Development Strategy.

Key performance results

During this difficult period, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk continued to implement existing exploration, mining and metallurgical projects. At the same time, the company pays considerable attention to attracting and introducing new innovative technologies. JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk as a national company has the necessary experience and competence to effectively manage mining projects.

Implementation of projects with investors

Currently, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk is focused on development of gold, copper, and lead-zinc deposits, participates in the implementation of projects for other metals (Severniy Katpar and Verkhneye Kairaktinskoye – tungsten and molybdenum).

The projects contributing to the development of the company include:

• a project for development of the world’s largest deposit of polymetallic ores Shalkiya with the construction of a processing plant and plants for the production of metallic zinc and lead;
• project for development of the Alaigyr lead deposit with the release of lead concentrate;
• a project for development of the Severniy Katpar rare metal deposit with the construction of rare metal production on its basis;
• a project for the production of refined gold and silver at the refining plant in Astana.

All these projects are created and mastered with participation of foreign partners, including European ones.

New record of Tau-Ken Altyn

In 2022, the refining plant located in the capital exceeded the gold production plan by more than 10% (against the plan for 50 tonnes, the company refined 55.6 tonnes of gold.

In total, 249 tonnes of gold have been refined at Tau-Ken Altyn since its commissioning. The plant produces 99.99 gold, the so-called “four nines”, in standard ingots of 12 kg and in granules. The plant’s products are of strategic importance – replenishment of the country’s gold and foreign exchange reserve, the buyer of bullion is the National Bank of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

Tau-Ken Altyn LLP is the holder of the “Good Delivery” certificate of The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA). This means that the gold produced in Tau-Ken Altyn meets 100% international quality standards and has a guarantee of legal purity.

Interaction of JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk with Kazzinc LLP

Currently, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk is a partner of Glencore International and owns 29.82% in the authorized capital of Kazzinc LLP.  According to the Report on the preliminary financial results of Glencore International Corporation for 2022, the losses of Kazzinc LLP amounted to USD51 million.

Non-core assets

In July 2022, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk announced the sale of Tau-Ken Temir LLP and Silicon Mining LLP.

The design capacity of the Tau-Ken Temir LLP plant is 25 thousand tonnes of metallurgical silicon. The company is located on the territory of the special economic zone “Saryarka” in Karaganda, which implies 100% exemption from corporate income tax, property tax, land tax, customs duties and VAT on imported goods.

The raw material base of the Tau-Ken Temir plant is the Aktas quartz deposit, located in the Karaganda region and owned by Silicon mining LLP. The total reserves of quartz deposit - about 4 million tonnes with an average SiO2 content of 99.5% - can provide the plant with the necessary raw materials for 30 years.

Tau-Ken Temir LLP and Silicon Mining LLP are included in the list of facilities proposed for transfer to the competitive environment as a priority in accordance with the Decree of the Government “On Some Privatization Issues for 2021-2025” dated December 29, 2020.

The first stage of the competition was held until November 7, 2022. Following the results of the first stage of the competition, guided by the rules, the competition was declared invalid, the corresponding notice was posted on the official website of JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk.

International cooperation

The reserves of mineral raw materials in Kazakhstan are quite large, but not always competitive due to the low content of the target metal, the persistence of ore, as well as territorial, transport and other restrictions.

The existing technologies for the production of non-ferrous and rare metals in Kazakhstan do not fully meet the modern requirements of ecology, economy and integrated use of mineral raw materials. Therefore, the company is establishing close cooperation with a number of major global companies offering the latest technological solutions for mining and metallurgical industries.

In August 2022, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk and the Turkish holding Eczacıbaşı established a joint venture South Ural Resources LLP to search for gold and copper in the republic. The new joint venture will operate in the Aktobe region of Kazakhstan. In case of successful completion of the exploration stage, joint mining and production of non-ferrous and precious metals is planned.

Eczacıbaşı Holding was founded in 1942. Today Eczacıbaşı is one of the leading industrial producers of mineral and metallic minerals in Turkey and the only producer of primary magnesium in Turkey and Europe. As a supplier of high-quality minerals, industrial materials and equipment, Esan sells more than 150 products for industry in 50 countries.

A preliminary agreement on the establishment of the joint venture was reached in May 2022 during the state visit of the President of Kazakhstan to the Republic of Turkey.

It is worth noting that the Kazakh enterprise aroused genuine interest in Qatar.

In October 2022, JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk and Qatar Mining signed a memorandum of understanding with the intention to develop strategic business relations to jointly explore opportunities for the development of projects in the mining and metals sector at the international level.

Social Partnership

The social well-being of JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk is an indisputable priority for the holding. The company pays great attention to the preservation of their health, provides medical insurance, supports the pursuit of healthy lifestyle, and provides opportunities for sports.

In 2022, within the framework of social partnership, salaries of employees holding low-paid positions have been increased by 5-41% in the entire group of companies of JSC NMC Tau-Ken Samruk. The corporate IR standard has been implemented.