Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction has issued 60 licenses to 36 different companies for exploration of solid minerals on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Currently, only about 3 square kilometers of the territory are available for extraction of solid minerals, while about 6,204.1 square kilometers are open for geological exploration. This is stated in the ministry's response to a request from Kursiv.
According to the ministry, the total area of the Semipalatinsk test site is 18,359.1 square kilometers. In 2023-2025, deep geological mapping with assessment of forecast resources was carried out here, and in 2026, second-generation geological survey at a scale of 1:50,000 began on an area of 7,706 square kilometers.
The project provides for a full cycle of research using modern technologies, including remote sensing of the Earth, aerogeophysical and geochemical surveys, laboratory analyses, prospecting and core drilling, mining workings, and geophysical surveys of wells.
According to the ministry, these works will allow refining forecast resources, identifying new promising areas, and forming a basis for subsequent prospecting and exploration works.
To date, on the territory of the former test site, in addition to 60 licenses for exploration of solid minerals, there are one contract for coal mining, one for fluorite mining, one for granite mining, one for salt mining, as well as one contract each for exploration of copper ores and precious metals, and for exploration and extraction of gold, silver, platinum, copper, zinc, and lead.
The ministry explained that exploration licenses do not specify a particular type of mineral, as they are issued solely for geological study of the subsoil. Provision of new areas is carried out in accordance with the Code "On Subsoil and Subsoil Use".
According to the list attached to the ministry's response, 36 companies received exploration licenses, including ASTANAGEOGARANT LLP, GoldenStag, ABS GOLD, Karkara Resources, SFERA Inc, Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC, Kazgeo Minerals, Qaz Titan Tobolsk, Golden Capital Mining Co. Ltd., Kazakhstan Kincaid Tianshan Mining Company, and others.
Responding to questions about the safety of geological exploration, the ministry reported that the Code "On Subsoil and Subsoil Use" allows subsoil use operations on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site. At the same time, exploration works in cases provided for by environmental legislation are possible only after obtaining an environmental permit or a positive conclusion of the state environmental expertise.
In addition, to obtain a license for extraction of solid minerals, the applicant must submit an environmental permit, necessary approvals, and positive conclusions of expertise provided for by legislation.
According to the ministry, five deposits with state reserves are registered on the territory of the former Semipalatinsk test site. These include the Yesymzhal reserve manganese deposit with balance reserves of 999 thousand tons of ore, the Karazhal reserve beryllium deposit with off-balance reserves of 4,357 tons, the Shor copper-molybdenum deposit, as well as the Boldykol and Baibolat gold deposits.