Kazakhstan reveals data on mineral resource reserves

ASTANA, 2 March (BelTA - Kazinform) - The international geological forum Geoscience & Exploration Central Asia is taking place in Astana, bringing together representatives of government bodies, business, and the expert community, Qazinform News Agency reports.

Speaking at the forum, Vice Minister of Industry and Construction Iran Sharkhan noted that the entire territory of Kazakhstan is now open for geological exploration under a system similar to that of Western Australia.

“We have been actively reforming the geology and subsoil use sector since 2018 and have made significant progress in this area. Today, we see a multiple increase in private investment in geological exploration. In figures, there are currently around 3,000 subsoil users engaged in exploration across the country, including in areas where no exploration had previously been conducted,” the vice minister said.

He stressed that the initial results of the reform show that investment in exploration has increased 2.5 times, reaching $1 billion between 2019 and 2024.

According to the ministry, Kazakhstan’s mineral resource base includes around 10,000 deposits, including 1,009 solid mineral deposits, 359 hydrocarbon deposits, 3,700 common mineral deposits, and 4,931 groundwater deposits.

Kazakhstan’s total reserves of key mineral resources are estimated at 2,300 tonnes of gold, 4.3 billion tonnes of oil, 3.8 trillion cubic meters of gas, 33.5 billion tonnes of coal, and 26.7 billion tonnes of iron.

As a result of geological exploration work in 2025, reserves were revised and 17 deposits were recorded on the state register for the first time, including major ones such as Kok-Zhon, Altyn-Shoko, and Samombet.

Reserve increases included 136 tonnes of gold, 152 tonnes of silver, 75,000 tonnes of copper, and 1.3 million tonnes of phosphorites.

To date, around 3,000 licenses for solid mineral exploration have been issued, attracting foreign mining companies such as Cove Capital (USA), Rio Tinto (Australia), Teck Resources Limited (Canada), Fortescue (Australia), Barrick Gold (Canada), First Quantum (Canada), Ivanhoe (Canada), and others.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev had signed the Law introducing amendments to the Subsoil and Subsoil Use Code, enhancing the regulation of hydrocarbon and uranium extraction.