Kazchrome's Bolashak Mine restarts after Feb accident
ASTANA. April 18 (Interfax) - Bolashak Mine, operated by Kazchrome's Donskoy Ore Mining and Processing Plant, is restarting after a fire incident at the end of February, Kazchrome, which is part of Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), said in a press release.
"The state commission has completed its special investigation into the accident that occurred in February at Bolashak Mine. Kazchrome has fulfilled all necessary safety measures and is now restarting the mine," the press release says.
The mine is restarting gradually in accordance with the commission's recommendations, with each cycle of operations to be thoroughly assessed for compliance with the safety requirements, according to the press release.
The commission produced an incident prevention plan to be followed by the company. Following this plan, the company has already installed gas analyzers that monitor real-time the situation inside the mine. All miners have now been supplied with portable gas sensors to continuously monitor the air quality inside the mine. In addition, the miners will now use personal lanterns with built-in hydrogen and carbon monoxide detectors that alert both the miner and the control room personnel if gas levels exceed safety limits.
Specialists from research institutes of Kazakhstan, Turkey and Russia continue to investigate the causes of gas formation in the mine and developing methods to neutralize this phenomenon in the future.
On February 28, four employees suffered burns as a result of a momentary air ignition during drilling operations in the Bolashak Mine, which is in the Aktobe region. There were 228 workers in the mine at the time of the incident. All were brought to the surface.
The Bolashak Mine was commissioned in 2024 and has a design capacity of 7.5 million tonnes of chrome ore per year. It is one of the deepest mines in the world. It is also the deepest mine shaft in Kazakhstan for the extraction of ferrous metals - more than 1 kilometer underground.
Kazchrome operates four business units: Donskoy Ore Mining and Processing Plant in the Aktobe region, KazManganese Mining Enterprise in the Karaganda region, Aksu Ferroalloy Plant in the Pavlodar region and the Aktobe Ferroalloy Plant.
ERG is one of the world's leading diversified mining and smelting groups with fully integrated mining, processing, energy production, logistical and marketing operations.