According to Kursiv.media, the country has recorded 1,747 such facilities with a total mass of about 55 billion tons. A deputy is asking for an inventory to be conducted and contracts to be prepared for the development of state-owned dumps.

The essence in brief

• Technogenic mineral formations (TMF) are dumps and ore processing waste accumulated over about 150 years of mining.
• As of early 2024, Kazakhstan had recorded 1,747 facilities with a mass of about 55 billion tons.
• The deputy proposes an inventory of TMF, dividing them into those owned by the state and by subsoil users, and preparing subsoil use contracts for state-owned dumps.
• The request does not specify deadlines, and there is no decision from the ministry yet.

What the deputy proposes

Most of the TMF consists of overburden rocks suitable for producing construction materials, and only a smaller part contains useful components. In his request, Shibutov cites such examples: chromium at the Donskoy GOK in Aktobe Region, phosphorites in Zhambyl Region (Chulak-Tau, Zhanatas, Kok-Jon), gold and silver at the Leningorsk processing plant, and manganese at the Zhayrem GOK in Karaganda Region. According to him, processing the waste will improve the environment and free up land.

The deputy proposes:

• conducting an inventory of TMF;
• dividing them into accumulations owned by the state and by subsoil users;
• preparing subsoil use contracts for the development of state-owned dumps.

What is already being done

Some companies are already extracting valuable components from dumps. Kazakhaltyn MMC works with gold-containing dumps at the Aksu, Bestobe, and Zholymbet deposits, with a combined capacity of 7 million tons per year. Ertis ARFO plans to extract 5,900 tons of zinc and 780 tons of copper annually from Kazzinc's dumps starting in 2027. Qarmet's facility in Karaganda Region has accumulated 800 million tons of waste.

So far, only a small portion is being processed. In March 2025, Minister of Industry and Construction Yersain Nagaspayev said that the country processes about 11% of TMF, whereas developed countries process 70-80%, and that the ministry is considering a simplified license for processing such waste.

What this means for Kazakhstan

Copper from waste is already being extracted in Kazakhstan: the British company Central Asia Metals obtains it from the old dumps of Kounrad in Karaganda Region. The company is looking for new reserves to reduce its dependence on a single mine.

Author's conclusion

The gap with other countries is clearly visible in the numbers: developed countries process 70-80% of such waste, while Kazakhstan processes about 11%. The deputy's proposal is aimed precisely at closing this gap, but so far without deadlines and without a response from the ministry.