Kazakhstan seeks to obtain Chinese loans for the implementation of copper and aluminum projects

Albert Rau, Deputy Minister for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan, said the government is seeking about $ 3 billion in loans from China to build two new plants to increase copper and aluminum production in the Central Asian country. “We did our best to prove to them that it is more profitable for them to receive cathode copper, rather than copper concentrate,” said Rau.

The Kazakhstani company KAZ Minerals, listed on the London Stock Exchange, announced in March that it would merge with the Baiyin Group of Non-Ferrous Metals of China to build a new plant. The joint venture plans to produce 300 thousand tons of cathode copper per year, and the construction of the plant is estimated at $ 1 billion. The main shareholder of the Baiyin Group of Non-ferrous Metals of China is the state-owned investment company CITIC Group.


At the same time, the Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), which manages production assets in Kazakhstan, is seeking a separate loan of about $ 2 billion to double its current aluminum production of 250,000 tonnes. ENRC, a major ferroalloy producer that also produces iron ore, alumina and aluminum, plans to double its aluminum production with the launch of two new production stages, each with a capacity of 125,000 tonnes of metal. Rau said that "as a rule, the source of financing is the Eximbank of China, which operates through the state Development Bank of Kazakhstan."

KAZ Minerals and its Chinese partner plan to complete the formation of their joint venture by the end of the first half of 2015. The construction of the plant will take at least three years. A new copper plant in Kazakhstan is a priority project with China. The plant will process ore from the Aktogay and Bozshakol deposits. KAZ Minerals are targeting the giant market in neighboring China. Copper production in Kazakhstan last year amounted to 294 thousand tonnes. Kazakhstan also wants to increase its processing of primary aluminum into industrial products. Rau said: "Today we are producing 250,000 tons of aluminum, but we aim to increase to 40,000 tons."