Five mineral deposits with state reserves have been discovered on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site, reports infohub.kz.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Construction, responding to a request from Kursiv, these include the reserve manganese deposit Esymzhal, comprising the Esymzhal, Dauletpai, and Yuzhny Kostarak sections. Its total balance reserves amount to 999,000 tons of manganese ore.
Additionally, the territory hosts the reserve beryllium deposit Karazhal with off-balance reserves of 4,357 tons.
Also located there is the Shorskoye copper-molybdenum deposit (Vostochny section), which has been preferentially granted to Shygys Molibden LLP (owned by Makhmud Kassymbekov, former head of the office of the first president Nursultan Nazarbayev) for solid mineral extraction.
Furthermore, the former test site contains the gold ore deposits Boldykol and Baibolat. The right to subsoil use for Boldykol was won at auction by BKO SMART LLP (owner Bakytbek Nabiyev), and for Baibolat by ZHAMBAS-PV LLP (owners Aibek and Kuat Oraziman, whose family holds a stake in the British oil exploration and production company Caspian Sunrise, primarily focused on the BNG contract area in the Caspian Basin).
At the same time, the ministry stated that it currently has no information on any projects for the construction of mining and processing plants, processing facilities, or other industrial infrastructure at the former test site. The ministry also lacks data on preliminary investment volumes and the expected economic impact of potential development of these deposits.
It should be recalled that the Semipalatinsk nuclear safety zone is a limited part of Kazakhstan's territory that has been subjected to above-standard radioactive contamination as a result of nuclear weapons testing at the former Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, where a special legal regime is in effect as provided by law.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that Altyn Group Qazaqstan plans to extract gold at the former Semipalatinsk test site. A study commissioned by the company showed that the Ulken Karashoky deposit, with over 73 tons of gold reserves, poses no radiation hazard to humans.