Kazakhstan has begun building a $1.8 billion copper smelter in Aktogay, Abai Region, designed to produce 300,000 tonnes of refined copper a year when production is scheduled to begin in 2030.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev launched construction by video link on October 20. He described the project as a major step in developing Kazakhstan’s metal industry. KAZ Minerals is developing the facility, with China’s NFC as its engineering partner.
The plant is planned to produce cathode copper each year, a refined form of the metal. Tokayev said the output would be enough to meet domestic demand. The project is also expected to create more than 1,000 jobs.
Alongside copper, the plant is designed to produce metallic gold, silver and sulfuric acid. Tokayev said Kazakhstan could join the world’s top 10 producers of high-quality refined copper once the smelter is operating. The project adds capacity to process copper in Kazakhstan to a mining sector that already produces substantial volumes of copper concentrate.
However, its production targets and timeline are still plans, not completed results.