The company will own stakes in Kazakh enterprises engaged in geological exploration, and the first project will be the Beskauga copper-gold-silver deposit near Pavlodar, writes National Business.

The essence in brief

• The charter capital of the new company in the AIFC is $1 thousand; all key positions are held by Mogotes Metals CEO Nabil Allen Sabet.
• The option for 100% of Dostyk LLP, which holds the Beskauga exploration license, is worth $24.7 million, and the largest payment of $19.2 million must be made by February 8, 2029.
• The company plans up to 50 thousand m of drilling and expects the first assay results in the fourth quarter of 2026.
• Resources according to the 2022 estimate are 111.2 million t of ore in the Indicated category and 92.6 million t in the Inferred category.

What is known about the new company

Mogotes Metals Kazakhstan Ltd. was established in the AIFC with a charter capital of $1 thousand. The sole shareholder is Mogotes Metals Kazakhstan Inc., and all key positions are held by Nabil Allen Sabet, CEO of Mogotes Metals. As stated in the description on the AIFC website, the company will own stakes in Kazakh enterprises operating in the field of geological exploration.

What the Beskauga project is

The deposit is located in Pavlodar Region, 70 km southwest of Pavlodar and approximately 370 km from Astana. Within 20 km of the site run a railway and a paved national highway, and a power transmission line crosses the site. The exploration license is held by Dostyk LLP. The project contains copper, gold and silver.

Under what terms the company can buy the project

Mogotes signed the option agreement in February 2026 with Copperbelt AG, which owns Dostyk. As the company reported, the total price is $24.7 million, of which $17.2 million in cash and up to $7.5 million in cash or Mogotes shares. The first payment is made immediately after signing, then $1 million each on January 1, 2027, 2028 and 2029, and the final $19.2 million must be paid by February 8, 2029. During the option period, the company must spend at least $860 thousand on exploration and apply for a mining license by January 1, 2027. Payments and expenditures are made at its discretion and can be accelerated without penalty.

What about the resources

According to the 2022 estimate under the Canadian NI 43-101 standard, the Indicated category at Beskauga contains 111.2 million t of ore with a copper grade of 0.30%, which is 333.6 thousand t of copper, 1.8 million ounces of gold and 4.8 million ounces of silver. The Inferred category contains 92.6 million t of ore with 0.24% copper (222.2 thousand t of copper), 1.5 million ounces of gold and 3.4 million ounces of silver. This is historical data: the company itself does not consider it a current resource estimate and warns that it should not be relied upon.

What the company plans at Beskauga

According to the 2026-2027 work plan, Mogotes intends to drill up to 50 thousand m and continue drilling until winter sets in. The company expects the first assay results in the fourth quarter of 2026, and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of the project within 12 months.

Author's conclusion

The final payment of $19.2 million is the main part of the $24.7 million, and it must be made only in February 2029, meaning Mogotes will decide whether to pay after drilling and the preliminary economic assessment it promises within a year. Until then, in Kazakhstan the project has only an exploration license, and a mining application must be submitted by January 1, 2027. Registering the company in the AIFC means the Canadians now have a local structure for transactions, but Beskauga's reserves, by their own assessment, remain historical 2022 figures for now.