Astana, Kazakhstan, March 13
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
More than 5500 of mineral deposits of all kinds are on the country's state balance sheet and the cadastre upon the Kazakh State Reserve Committee's data, as well as the Committee of Geology and Subsoil Use under the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and New Technologies told Trend on March 12.
"Some 5536 fields of all kinds of minerals are on the state balance sheet and the cadastre of the country upon the Kazakh State Reserve Committee's data," the committee said.
"The reserves on the main types of minerals have increased in Kazakhstan for the past 22 years, from 1991 to 2013," the Kazakh State Reserve Committee said.
"So, gold reserves increased by 0,800 tons, copper by 5.4 million tons, lead by 990,000 tons , zinc by 2.8 million tons, uranium by 161,000 tons, manganese ore by 94 million tons, oil by two billion tons and gas by 145 billion cubic meters," the committee said.
After the USSR collapse, exploration was financed on a budgetary basis in Kazakhstan. As a result, there was in a sharp decline in exploration volumes and a brain drain.
The exploration work was carried out mainly by investors later from 1995-2002. The budget funded only regional geological operations. As a result, there was an imbalance. This mistake was taken into account in the programme of development of the resource base of the country's mineral complex for 2003-2010. It was aimed not only at improving the existing system of geological research, but also to create a new and more effective one.
The new programme for the development of the mineral resource complex in Kazakhstan for 2010-2014 has been worked out given the country's industrialisation and therefore puts more ambitious goals forward for the industry.
Translated by NH
Edited by SM