Nearly 200,000 tons of copper concentrate per year is expected to be produced at new processing plants for the Beshoky deposit in the Karaganda region and the Kyzyltu deposit in the Akmola region, reports infohub.kz.
According to the Ministry of Industry and Construction, about 190,000 tons of copper concentrate annually will be produced at the new processing plants. Technological solutions for their design were developed by specialists from the branch of RSE "National Center for Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan" – "East Research Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals" (VNIItsvetmet). The combined processing capacity of the two plants will be 10.5 million tons of ore per year.
VNIItsvetmet specialists developed flotation technologies for copper-porphyry ores from the Beshoky deposit and copper-molybdenum ores from the Kyzyltu deposit. These technological solutions are included in the regulations for designing new processing plants.
For Beshoky, a plant with a capacity of 7.5 million tons of ore per year is planned, producing about 142,000 tons of copper concentrate with a copper content of 25%. Previously, the deposit's resources were estimated at 2.6 million tons of copper, and it also contains gold.
It was reported that Ulmus Besshoky ("Ulmus Besshoky") conducted exploration at the Beshoky deposit, whose ultimate owners at the time of publication were Kazakh entrepreneur Timur Isaev and foreigner Bhamre Prasad (citizenship is not indicated in the company's reporting, but he has a residence permit in Kazakhstan and previously served on the board of directors of the Unified Accumulative Pension Fund). At the end of 2025, it was announced that gold mining company Solidcore Resources acquired a 10.2% minority stake in Ulmus Besshoky.
Ulmus Besshoky was engaged in geological exploration and had no revenue in 2024-2025, with losses of 329.2 million and 403.5 million tenge, respectively. At the end of 2025, the ultimate owner of the company in financial statements was Kazakh citizen Nurlan Kusainov, who served as a member of the board of directors of the Astana International Financial Centre, and previously headed the Development Bank of Kazakhstan.
For Kyzyltu, a regulation has been developed and transferred for implementation in design, providing for the processing of 3 million tons of ore per year and the production of about 48,000 tons of copper concentrate with a copper content of 21%. Previously, the deposit's resources were estimated at 132.2 million tons of copper ore, which also contains gold and silver.
In 2026, specialists are also adjusting the technological regulations for the Bozshakol and Karchiga copper processing plants, taking into account the mineral composition of the processed ores and production conditions.
"On laboratory flotation machines, specialists study the effect of ore grinding fineness, select and refine optimal flotation modes. The results obtained will improve copper recovery and will be used to enhance the operation of these processing plants," noted Larisa Kushakova, Deputy Director for Applied Research and Testing at the branch of RSE "NC CPMR RK" "VNIItsvetmet".
The institute's developments create a technological basis for the construction of new processing plants and improving the efficiency of Kazakhstan's copper industry.