Chinese company invests $300 mln in launch of Kazakhstan's first tungsten plant

ASTANA. Nov 2 (Interfax) - Kazakhstan's first tungsten ore processing plant has been commissioned in the Almaty region, the Kazakh Industry and Construction Ministry's press service said.

"A project valued at $300 million has been implemented in accordance with international environmental and industrial standards. The plant provides more than 1,000 jobs for local specialists, and when it reaches planned capacity will process 3.3 million tonnes of ore each year, producing 65% tungsten concentrate," it said.

"The project is headed by Aral Kegen LLC, part of the Jiaxin International Resources Investment Ltd. holding, which was joined by Jiangxi Copper Corporation, China Railway Construction Company, China Civil Engineering Construction Company and Ever Trillion International Singapore PTE LTD", it said.

Future plans include building a deep processing complex which will make it possible to raise tungsten content to 88.5% and produce high-purity tungsten carbide, the ministry said. Investment at this stage is expected to be $150 million.

The Kazakh government said in summer this year that China's Jiaxin International Resources Investment would launch an enterprise for processing tungsten ore at the Boguta deposit in the Almaty region in the coming months. The confirmed reserves of the site are estimated at 120 million tonnes. The company plans to process 3.3 million tonnes of ore annually, producing 10,000 tonnes of tungsten concentrate.