In Soviet times, it was almost impossible to get permission to develop their own minerals. Thanks to our Independence, we can now with full right not only explore, study, but also develop mineral deposits: ores, metals, valuable minerals and much more.
In the bowels of Kazakhstan, figuratively speaking, there is the entire periodic table. In this regard, one of the most valuable elements is tungsten. The chemical element of the VI group of the periodic system is the most rare and valuable metal. In the Almaty region, in the Enbekshikazakh district on the eastern outskirts of the Trans-Ili Alatau, there is a rich Bogutinsky deposit of tungsten and its accompanying rare earth and precious metals: gold, silver, zinc.
For the first time, the presence of rare precious metals in the bowels was established and investigated in 1941. The first deposits were discovered in 1941, 205 km northeast of Almaty and 75 km west of Shelek. However, after the war, further research faded into the background.
After a long break, on December 9, 1974, the State Commission, formed from the responsible persons of the Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy of the USSR and the then Republican Ministry of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy and other interested bodies of the union level, held a meeting dedicated to this deposit and published a decision on development. As noted in the minutes of the same meeting, as a result of geological exploration at the Bogutinsky deposit, rich reserves of rare especially valuable metals were discovered, which can become a promising large industrial object. And in recent years, there has been an opportunity to implement it for the benefit of the country.
In general, during the Soviet Union, many deposits were deeply explored in our republic. According to the information of that period, the total reserves of tungsten in the country were about two million tons. The Bogutinskoye field was the largest in the republic.
According to scientists and economists, if the described project is implemented, Kazakhstan will become the second state in the world for the extraction of rare earth metal. The valuable mineral will be exported to the countries of the near and far abroad.
It is worth noting separately that the designated area is rich not only in tungsten ore, but thanks to the conducted research, rich reserves of molybdenum, bismuth, beryllium, gold, pyrite and silver have been identified here. Due to the geological features, the Bogutinskoye deposit belongs to the so-called Group II, in other words, large deposits with a complex chemical composition and an uneven distribution of ores are concentrated here.
Such a complex and at the same time, very useful and necessary development was undertaken by the specialists of a domestic company - the limited liability partnership "Zhetysu Wolfram". This company has been studying minerals and, in particular, precious metals since its foundation-since 2014, making its feasible contribution to the socio-economic development of both the Almaty region and the entire state as a whole.
The implementation of such a large-scale project requires, according to experts, about 250 million US dollars, which are provided for by the investment project. Note that tungsten is a refractory metal of light gray color. For the most part, it is used as electrodes in electric lamps, burners in electric furnaces, X-ray tubes, cathodes and other power tools. And if Kazakhstan itself begins to produce and put into operation the above elements, it will become the basis for the further development of several sectors of the domestic industry.
In general, the project is planned to be implemented from 2021 to 2023. Its total cost is estimated at 94.5 billion tenge. The production capacity of the enterprise will be 3.3 million tons per year.
The main goal of the project is to develop a concentrate for the manufacture of metal products from the extracted ore, with the further output of the resulting products to the domestic and foreign markets.
Currently, the first stage of the project is being implemented, about 30 people from the local population and two specialists are involved, advising on the subtleties of extraction and processing of tungsten ore. The average salary of employees is about 250 thousand tenge.
Then, when the main phase of the project begins, about 200 residents of the district will be employed, in addition, 50 people will receive special training in a new and already popular specialty.
It is worth noting separately that high-quality performance of geological exploration works is of great importance in the mining industry. In this regard, Kazakhstan has a great and positive experience. Nevertheless, it is no secret that the personnel issue in this direction does not lose its relevance. First of all, this is due to the fact that on a global scale, the development of the mining and metallurgical industry is assigned to the rank of strategic and requires constant and in-depth research.
However, the national geology, as a science, was able to overcome all the crisis phenomena and today is experiencing a certain rise, which allowed scientists, talented applicants to return to their favorite business again and continue to contribute to the dynamic development of the country. All this serves as a reliable foundation for future achievements aimed, first of all, at strengthening the country's economy and improving the well-being of Kazakhstanis.
Deputy Head of the Almaty region
Batyrzhan Baizhumanov