Norilsk Nickel, also known as Nornickel, is considering investments in mining projects in Kazakhstan, according to Kazakh Invest.
During the Central Asia Mining & Metals international trade fair held in Almaty from September 17 to 19, 2024, a Kazakh Invest delegation led by project department director Bauyrzhan Aitkulov engaged with local subsoil users and foreign investors. The discussions included potential cooperation with Nornickel in copper and gold production and processing in the Almaty region, as the company evaluates investment opportunities and subsoil use sites from Kazakhstan’s national project pool.
In addition to its talks with Nornickel, Kazakh Invest facilitated meetings between local investor Lomonosovskoye, which is developing an iron ore deposit in the Kostanay region with investment support from the UAE and European countries. Kazakh Invest encouraged collaboration between this local firm and its major international partners in the production of hot-briquetted iron and heavy-duty steel.
Aitkulov also held discussions with Fakoor Sanat Tehran, an Iranian company interested in iron ore projects in Kazakhstan, particularly in processing tailing dumps from large iron ore deposits in the Kostanay region.
Furthermore, Kazakh Invest project manager Zhaksylyk Khasenov visited Zhetysu Wolfram LLP, which operates a tungsten washing plant in the Almaty region and oversees the Boguty tungsten ore deposit. Jiaxin International Resources Investment, based in Hong Kong, is prepared to invest $350 million in this project, aiming to create 1,000 new jobs and boost capacity to 3.3 million tons of ore annually, producing 15,000 tons of 65% tungsten concentrate.
Nornickel is majority-owned by Russian billionaire Vladimir Potanin, who controls most of the company’s shares through his private investment firm, Interros. As reported by Forbes, Potanin has a net worth of approximately $23.7 billion, ranking him as the 85th richest person in the world.
