Kazakhstani company to explore for lithium in salt lakes of the Aral region

The Tau-Ken Samruk National Mining Company, a subsidiary of Samruk Kazyna, will explore salt lakes in the vicinity of the Aral Sea to see if there is some lithium. The project will be implemented with financial support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), according to Nariman Absametov, the company’s chief business officer.

«We have financial support from the EBRD. We want to take samples (from salt lakes in the Aral Sea region) and try to find some lithium there. As you probably know, there are two methods of lithium production: from salt water and from ore materials,» he said during the MINEX 2024 summit.

As Absametov noted, Kazakhstan has many similarities with South America, where lithium is produced from salt brine. In particular, this method is a common practice in Chile, the global leader in terms of lithium reserves.

«We already got some samples and these samples prove the presence of lithium. But, of course, this is not something 100% certain,» he underscored.

By now, researchers are trying to prove that there is enough lithium in the salt lakes area to launch lithium production on an industrial scale. The project has been underway for six months now. To support the project, the EBRD has allocated a grant of 400,000 euros for a scientific search for lithium in the Aral Sea region. The project will last for two years.

According to Absametov, the company is engaged in more than 50 different mining projects with 15 partners. Given that Tau-Ken Samruk has acquired Kazgeology, another national company responsible for a variety of geological projects, it offers its partners full-fledged support during their negotiations with the government.

So far, Tau-Ken Samruk is mainly focused on gold as the company runs an affinage plant in Astana which has been processing gold since 2013 (Tau-Kent Altyn). Initially, the plant had a capacity of just 25 tons of gold and 50 tons of silver. However, since 2019 the plant has gradually boosted its capacity. In 2022, Tau-Ken Altyn conducted an affinage of 55.6 tons of gold.

In addition, the company is also interested in copper, rare and rare earth metals.