ASTANA – Ulba Metallurgical Plant (UMP), a subsidiary of Kazatomprom national atomic company, received a license to explore solid minerals at the Verkhny Irgiz deposit in the Aktobe Region, the company announced on May 4.
Photo credit: kazatomprom.kz. Click to see the map in full size. The map is designed by The Astana Times.
Kazatomprom will conduct a geological exploration of the subsoil at the site to assess and confirm the reserves and resources of rare metals, such as tantalum, niobium, and beryllium.
The project will provide the existing production with its mineral resource base, reduce the cost of final finished products, increase economic efficiency and generate more jobs.
“UMP produces uranium, beryllium, tantalum and niobium products. It has a full production cycle from processing these rare metals to producing high-quality finished products. It is the only one within the territory of the Commonwealth of Independent States and one of the largest enterprises in the world,” reads the press statement.
Photo credit: kazatomprom.kz.
Rare and rare-earth metals (RM and REM) and their compounds have unique properties, widely used in aviation, space technology, rocket engineering, the nuclear industry, medicine, instrument manufacture, electronics, mechanical engineering and metallurgy sectors.
According to the company, Kazatomprom adopted a program of scientific and technological development in the field of RM and REM for 2022-2029 to create new types of products, improve technologies for the associated extraction of valuable components at enterprises and organize high-tech industries.
The document contains measures to expand the raw material base, develop and introduce new technologies, develop scientific studies and innovations and create a system for training highly qualified personnel.
Implementing these tasks will create a high-tech RM and REM industry in Kazakhstan that significantly contributes to the country’s social and economic development.
Last month, the company received a certificate of state registration for a new enterprise, Taiqonyr Qyshqyl Zauyty, to build a sulfuric acid plant in the Sozak district of the Turkistan Region.
