AltynGroup Kazakhstan plans to extract 1,782 kilograms of gold from the Mailykara deposit, located on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. The mining has been deemed radiation-safe, according to infohub.kz.
In a report obtained by Kursiv, the company Ecoexpert stated that mining at the gold-bearing Mailykara deposit in the Maysky district of Pavlodar region (part of the former test site) poses no radiation hazard to humans. 'The average annual effective dose per person within these areas is less than 0.3 mSv/year from man-made radionuclides resulting from nuclear weapons testing, provided that decontamination work is carried out in the contaminated zone. The area does not fall into the category of contaminated territories and is classified as having a relatively satisfactory radiation situation,' the report says.
During the study, air and soil samples were taken, showing overall satisfactory radiation levels. However, before mining begins, the top five centimeters of soil, which contain the bulk of accumulated radionuclides, must be removed and transported outside the contract area.
Ecoexpert recommended a number of measures: mandatory radiation monitoring at workplaces, determination of workers' radiation doses, measures to reduce them, and provision of personal protective equipment. The main hazardous factor is dust generation during mining and vehicle movement. The estimated average annual effective dose for the population from man-made radionuclides at the Mailykara site, taking into account locally produced food, will be less than 4.95×10⁻⁵ Sv/year, compared to the standard of 0.3×10⁻³ Sv/year.
The Mailykara deposit covers an area of 2.9 square kilometers. It contains copper, gold, and silver. Six ore zones have been identified, extending up to one kilometer in length and up to 400 meters in width. Precious and non-ferrous metals are found at depths of up to 60 meters, with exploration carried out to 165 meters.
According to the open-pit mining plan, in 2027–2028, the company expects to extract 650,600 tons of gold-bearing ore, including 500,000 tons in 2027. The gold content is 2.74 grams per ton, and over two years, a total of 1,782 kilograms of gold is planned. The ores also contain copper, molybdenum, and silver; some gold ore bodies contain up to 11 grams of precious metal per ton.
Earlier, Ecoexpert prepared a similar study for AltynGroup Kazakhstan on the Ulken-Karashoky deposit, also located on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. Reserves as of early 2022 stood at 85 million tons of gold-bearing ore, 73,000 kilograms of gold, 405,894 tons of copper, and 193.54 tons of silver.
In February, the US company REalloys signed long-term cooperation agreements with AltynGroup Kazakhstan in the field of rare earth element extraction. Rare earth metals mined in Kazakhstan will be processed in North America.
The ultimate owner of AltynGroup Kazakhstan is the Asaubayev family, which is related by marriage to former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Aidar Asaubayev's wife, Lyazzat Asaubayeva, is the niece of Sara Nazarbayeva, the wife of the former president. In 2012, the Asaubayev family ranked 19th on Forbes' list of the wealthiest Kazakhs with a fortune of $280 million. Later, the company disappeared from the list, despite significant assets, including mining projects in Kazakhstan.