The Republic of Kazakhstan government has agreed with China Nonferrous Metal Mining (NFC) to build a smelter forecast to have an annual copper production capacity of 300,000 tonnes.
The agreement was signed between KAZ Minerals Smelting and NFC as the supplier of design services and procurement of process equipment, and NFC Kazakhstan.
NFC Kazakhstan will be the construction and commissioning contractor.
The plant is to be built near the village of Aktogay in the Abay region, about 1,000 km southeast of the capital, Astana. The Bozshakol and Aktogay mining and processing plants of company Vostoktsvetmet are to supply copper concentrate for the smelter.
“The construction of the plant will create a cluster combining one of the world’s largest copper mines and a modern copper smelting facility,” the Kazakhstan government said in a statement. “The project will create over 1,000 new jobs. It is scheduled to be commissioned by the end of 2028.”
“The high-tech enterprise will be the largest in the country for the production of high-value-added products,” the statement reads.
The deal marks another step in China’s move to scale up investment in infrastructure projects in Central Asia.
In 2023, China’s funding commitment for its Belt and Road Initiative reached US$107 billion, with 15% pledged to Kazakhstan. The country is targeting $40 billion in annual two-way trade with China by 2030, up from over $31 billion in 2022.
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