Kazakhstan's Contribution to the Rare Metals Industry: Key Developments and Prospects

In today's global economy, rare and rare earth metals have moved from the category of auxiliary components to the status of critical raw materials. Rare metals such as lithium, beryllium, tantalum and niobium, as well as the lanthanide group, have unique physical and chemical properties that cannot be replaced in the production of powerful permanent magnets, superconductors, lasers and batteries. They are the foundation for the development of high-tech industry: green energy, microelectronics, defense industry and aerospace technologies.

Growing demand for electric vehicles and renewable energy makes the efficient extraction and separation of these metals a matter of national economic security and technological sovereignty. For Kazakhstan, which has a significant mineral resource base of these elements, the development of this industry is not just an economic priority, but also a matter of ensuring global competitiveness.

These questions were raised at the international scientific and practical forum EKTU RND FORUM 2026 on the topic: “Rare earth metals of Kazakhstan: challenges, solutions and strategies,” which was held in Ust-Kamenogorsk (East Kazakhstan region). Leading specialists from the Branch of the Republican State Enterprise "National Center on Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan" of the State Research and Production Association of Industrial Ecology "Kazmekhanobr" (hereinafter referred to as Kazmekhanobr) - Deputy Director for Research Baurzhan Surimbaev and Deputy Head of the Department of Mineral Raw Materials Processing and Semi-Industrial Testing Alina - took part in one of the key international platforms to discuss the prospects for the development of the industry of rare earth and strategically important metals Smailova.

In their speech, the scientists shared current developments and technological potential of Kazmekhanobra in the field of processing of mineral and technogenic raw materials, and also discussed ways of strategic cooperation and implementation of joint innovative projects with potential partners.

It should be noted that Kazmekhanobra specialists solve one of the most difficult problems in metallurgy - the separation of valuable components from difficult-to-enrich, complex raw materials and technogenic waste. The combined technological schemes developed at the institute, combining gravity, flotation and hydrometallurgical methods, make it possible to achieve high recovery rates while complying with environmental standards.

Among the achievements of Kazmekhanobra in rare metal raw materials it is worth highlighting:

• Development of a flotation scheme and technological regulations, as well as obtaining a patent for an invention for processing barite ore from the Ansai deposit to produce barite concentrate with a barium sulfate content of 95.17% with a recovery of 79.41% (at the moment the project for the construction of a factory is at the final stage);
• Conducting semi-industrial testing of beryllium-containing ore from the Ermakovskoye deposit and producing 263 kg of concentrate with a beryllium oxide content of 13.37-16.90%;
• Development of technological regulations for the processing of yttrium-rare earth ore from the Kundybay deposit.
• For decades, Kazmekhanobr has been a leading research institute, forming the technological basis for the development of deposits of non-ferrous, precious and rare metals in Kazakhstan.

The activities of the institute cover the entire cycle: from a detailed study of the material composition of complex ores and the development of effective processing technologies to conducting semi-industrial tests of the developed technologies and their introduction into industry.

Source: www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mps