BAKU, Azerbaijan, Feb.18
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan must intensify geological exploration to avoid a shortage of fossil resources in the coming decades, Kazakhstan’s Minister of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan Magzum Mirzagaliyev said, Trend reports with reference to Kazakh media.
Mirzagaliyev said that the provision of city-forming ventures with reserves is currently low.
“For example, a decrease in oil production by one million tons is observed annually in the Kyzylorda region. The same reduction is expected in the Aktobe and Mangystau regions in the near future. Over the course of past decades, large lead and zinc deposits' reserves have been nearly depleted in the East Kazakhstan region. Several other large deposits of various minerals are expected to be exhausted by 2040,” the minister said.
He added that geologists adhere to the principle: ‘extracted one ton – filled up two’; however, currently, the rule is not being implemented. The replenishment coefficient is 0.13 for solid minerals, and 0.2 for hydrocarbons.
This is why, he said, the geological exploration should be intensified as soon as possible taking into consideration that the time difference between new field’s discovery and their commissioning is at least 10-15 years.
“Currently, over 8,000 deposits are listed on the state balance. Significant prospects for gold deposits are located in the Kostanay region, the territory between central and eastern Kazakhstan, the southern part of the country adjacent to Kyrgyzstan,” the minister said.
He also noted that new lead and zinc deposits can be discovered in the center and in the south of Kazakhstan, and in the Rudnyy (Ore) Altai.
“There are prospects for discovering new deposits of other ore minerals - tungsten, molybdenum, aluminum, tin, as well as rare earth elements,” Mirzagaliyev said.
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