In the East Kazakhstan region, security forces stopped the activities of a group of illegal gold miners, which included Chinese citizens. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
The precious metal was mined without permits in the Markakol district, near the village of Akbulak. The work was carried out on a 30-hectare site using heavy machinery and industrial complexes.
The illegal activities caused significant environmental damage: the fertile soil layer was destroyed and degraded, the natural terrain was disrupted, and the riverbed was altered.
"More than 30 workers, including citizens of the People's Republic of China, were involved in the illegal activities," the Financial Monitoring Agency (AFM) reported.
During searches, authorities seized six 40-ton dump trucks, four tracked excavators, a front-end loader, and two industrial complexes for extracting and washing gold-bearing ore.
The investigation is ongoing. The agency did not disclose further information.
Earlier, Kursiv reported that 12 foreigners illegally searched for gold in the pastures of the Turkestan region.