ASTANA – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will loan $100 million to finance the construction of a new plant for processing copper and gold ore in a remote region of Karaganda, the bank announced on March 31.
The loan will go to the Altai Polimetally and Terekty Ken Baity companies, which are developing the Koktaszhal copper and gold deposit in Karaganda, an EBRD press release said. It is to be used to develop the Koktaszhal mine and build a plant to produce copper-gold concentrate, the press release said, including funding the purchase of efficient milling and processing equipment and conveyor belts. The EBRD website says the new plant is to have an annual capacity of 4 million tonnes.
“The new conveyors and other technologies used in the plant will eliminate the need for conventional diesel-fired heavy machinery and trucks. The new plant and modern equipment will also help the operators substantially reduce dusting and emissions, and water use will be halved compared with projects using conventional machinery,” said the EBRD press release.
According to EBRD Director for Energy and Natural Resources in Russia and Central Asia Aida Sitdikova, the loan will support the development of the deposit at new standards of resource and energy efficiency, plus support investment in the region, create jobs and boost the local economy.
Ruslan Yun, chairman of Altai Polimetally, said, “We appreciate the bank’s support in developing this state-of-the-art mining project. Based on our experience studying numerous copper-gold mines around the world, we are using the best equipment and techniques to make Koktaszhal a showcase for the world mining community in terms of efficiency as well as environmental and health and safety standards, which will contribute to minimising emissions and dust and substantially reducing water consumption. From a social perspective, we are supporting the local community. To attract the best mining engineers and their families to work and live in the project’s region we are building a modern village with all necessary infrastructure, including an Olympic-size swimming pool, sports centre, park and market place,” according to the press release.
