KAZ Minerals starts $1.8bn copper smelter construction in Aktogay, Kazakhstan

Kazakh mining company KAZ Minerals has started building a copper smelter in Aktogay worth $1.8 billion. The plant will have an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes of cathode copper, with first output planned for 2030. The official start was marked at a ceremony attended by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

Financial expert Aibar Olzhayev noted that the move coincided with the approval, on October 20, of a new methodology for setting copper concentrate processing tariffs. The methodology allows investment components to be included in the tariff. The project is on the list of 17 major breakthrough projects in Kazakhstan, and financing from the Development Bank of Kazakhstan is being considered, although loan approval has not been publicly confirmed.

According to Olzhayev, the project dates back to 2015. KAZ Minerals abandoned plans in 2017 and announced the smelter again in June 2024, when it was estimated at $1.5 billion with commissioning planned by the end of 2028. The cost has now risen to $1.8 billion and first output has been pushed back to 2030.