Head of the Government Olzhas Bektenov familiarised himself with the activities of the mining and metallurgical complex of the Ulytau region. Zhezkazgan concentrator and pilot hydrometallurgical plant were visited.

Prime Minister toured the production sites of Zhezkazgan concentrator and got acquainted with plans to modernise production. The enterprise annually receives about 21.3 million SMT (dry metric tonnes) of copper ore, producing more than 445 thousand SMT of concentrate. In 2020-2024, 49.5 billion tenge of investment has been allocated for the modernisation of the Zhezkazgan concentrator and the purchase of equipment.

Kazakhmys Corporation continues the phased modernisation of the plant. Reconstruction of block 2 of the main building of concentrators №1 and №2 is underway. The amount of investments is about 20 billion tenge, the effect is expected in the form of increase of copper in concentrate by 3% due to increase of copper recovery rates. To date, construction and installation works have been completed and the commissioning stage is beginning.

Olzhas Bektenov noted the importance of modernisation of production facilities, as it will give a serious impetus to the development of the domestic mining and metallurgical industry.

Head of the Government was informed about the activities of RSE "Zhezkazganredmet". For more than 25 years the enterprise has been extracting rare metals from copper production waste by hydrometallurgical method and is the largest producer and exporter of ammonium perrenate in the CIS, used in the manufacture of electrical equipment for the space and aviation industry, etc. The products are in demand worldwide. The products are in demand on the world market.

Prime Minister noted that the government would support the modernisation of the enterprise. At the same time, the importance of the policy of diversification of production, expansion of the product line was emphasised.

During his working trip Prime Minister also visited the pilot hydrometallurgical plant of Kazakhmys Smelting LLP, which is a key link in the development and optimisation of hydrometallurgical technologies at the global level. The project aims to reorient the copper recovery technology from pyrometallurgy to hydrometallurgy, enabling a transition to energy efficient and environmentally friendly production. This methodology allows processing of low-grade raw materials without producing waste. Today there are 3 patents for extraction of non-ferrous, rare and noble metals. In the near future, the hydrometallurgy project will be expanded to a full-fledged large-scale plant.

The Corporation allocated 25.4 billion tenge for R&D activities over 4 years. 242 R&D projects were implemented in such areas as digitalisation and automation of production processes, environmental solutions, health protection, geological exploration, development of scientific potential of employees and others.

Minister of Science and Higher Education Sayasat Nurbek reported to the Prime Minister on the progress of scientific support by domestic scientists of industrial enterprises, including Kazakhmys. The scientific environment is tasked with the development of innovative technologies for processing concentrate with low ore content. For this purpose will be directed scientific and technological hackathons, representing the search for new mechanisms to solve the requests and needs of the real economy.

"The opening of this plant is an example of co-operation between industry and science. The desire to invest in scientific research and co-operation with the country's universities should be continued by other enterprises. It is necessary to use advanced research to improve the existing methods of extracting metals from raw materials. At the same time, it is also necessary to keep the impact on the environment under special control," Olzhas Bektenov emphasised.

 

#Olzhas Bektenov #The Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan #Industry #Science #Working trip