Development of tungsten ores of the Yuzhny Zhaur deposit

Source: Kazakh Invest

Project Description:

Extraction and processing of rare metal ores from the Yuzhny Zhaur deposit in the Karaganda region (the “Project”).

Commercial products:

• 57% tungsten trioxide concentrate
• 50% molybdenum concentrate

Production process:

• open-pit mining is
• a sulfide-scheelite flotation, which includes grinding in one stage, sulfide flotation and scheelite flotation.

Maximum processing capacity:

4000 thousand tons of commercial ore per year

Project implementation period:

35 years old

Market prerequisites:

Availability of raw materials – Kazakhstan is in the first place in the world in terms of tungsten reserves (2 million tons or 63% of world reserves). The presence of significant reserves of molybdenum (160 thousand tons) on the territory of Kazakhstan opens up the potential for reviving the production of this metal in the future.

The increase in metal prices – The lack of easily accessible financing and the low metal content in the ores of the deposits are the reasons for the limited supply of metal on the market, which in the future may serve as an incentive for further growth in prices for tungsten and molybdenum.

Growing demand – Over the next 10 years, global demand for tungsten is projected to increase from 72,552 tons to 121,679 tons (5.3% CAGR). The development of the steel industry affects the growing demand for molybdenum. In the long term, until 2024, it is expected that the growth rate of demand for this metal will be 3.6% per year.

Reserves of the Southern Zhaur field (JORC)