Dostyq Minerals plans to conduct geological exploration at the Araltobe gold field in the Shet district of Kazakhstan's Karaganda region, according to the company's statement on planned activities, the website infohub.kz reports.
Dostyq Minerals is owned by the private company Kazakhstan Tianshan Mining Co. Ltd., which belongs to Li Chunya.
"Plan for exploration of solid minerals at the Araltobe gold field site, located in the Shet district of the Karaganda region of the Republic of Kazakhstan within blocks M-43-121-(10e-5g-24), M-43-133-(10v-5b-3,4) No. 1645-EL dated 01.03.2022 for the exploration of solid minerals," the published document, obtained by Kursiv, states.
The company received the license to explore three blocks with a total area of 6.88 square kilometers on March 1, 2022. The work plan provides for an assessment of resources at the site.
In particular, the company intends to sink 30 exploratory pits measuring two by two meters at the mouth and three meters deep. A total of 180 samples will be taken from these pits (six from each pit). Trenches will also be dug at the site (10 trenches, each 50 meters long, 1.4 meters wide and one meter deep), and drilling operations will be organized.
Once sampling and geological description are completed, the project provides for backfilling the trenches with the excavated rock mass. A field camp will be set up at the licensed site, including temporary living and production facilities. Eighteen people will work at the site, on a 15-day rotation in two shifts of 11 hours each plus a one-hour lunch break.
Work will begin in the first quarter of 2027 and end in the first quarter of 2028 (the expiry date of the exploration license).
Li Junya is listed as the head of the capital-based Dostyq Minerals (extraction of precious metals and rare metal ores), with the private company Kazakhstan Tianshan Mining Co. Ltd. as its sole owner (registered with the Astana International Financial Centre on July 8, 2025; geological exploration, open-pit iron ore mining, and the provision of services facilitating oil and natural gas extraction), which is owned by Li Chunya. Li Junya is listed as the head of both companies, so he is most likely also the ultimate owner of both companies.