Iranian company to boost cathode copper production in Kazakhstan

Irkaz Metal Corporation, a subsidiary of Iranian Kavand Nahan Zamin, is going to implement the third phase of its mining complex, which will have a capacity of an additional 5,000 tons of cathode copper at the Borly field in the Aktogay district of the Karaganda region.

The company plans to process 2.5 million cubic meters of copper ore (4.575 million tons) with heap leaching and produce an additional 5,000 tons of cathode copper per year. The company will need 137,250 tons of sulfuric acid to deliver this plan. 

The producer will store ore in a pile, while productive solutions will be kept in two artificial ponds with capacities of 38,400 and 23,700 cubic meters, respectively. The mining complex is 60 kilometers from Balkhash; the new production site will occupy about 100 hectares.

The site is expected to be operated all year round in two shifts of 12 hours each. Workers will stay in a camp that will be built along with other facilities within the site. Construction will start in July 2024 and will be completed in June 2025.

The $20 million mining complex has been operating since November 2022. Its current capacity is also 5,000 tons of cathode copper per year, while the Borly field’s mineral reserves are estimated at 115 million tons of ore with an average copper content of 0.35%.