Kazakhstan Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in kazakhstan, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Critical Minerals and Mining Sector
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Kazakhstan is richly endowed with mineral resources, including coal, ferrous, and non-ferrous metals. It is the world’s largest uranium producer, accounting for 39 percent of global production and 48.8 percent of global natural uranium exports, and holds extensive reserves of coal, gold, and manganese. The country ranks third globally in titanium production, seventh in zinc, eighth in lead, and eleventh in gold. More than 230 enterprises produce or process a wide range of minerals, including coal, iron and steel, copper, lead, zinc, manganese, gold, aluminum, titanium sponge, uranium, and barites. The critical minerals and rare earth elements sector is emerging as a key growth area. Mining contributes about 23.3 percent of GDP, and in 2024, hard minerals and metals represented 18 percent of Kazakhstan’s exports by value. Refined copper exports alone generated $2 billion in 2024, while zinc brought in $788 million, silver $588 million, aluminum $369 million, lead $251 million, and titanium $121 million.

Kazakhstan holds the world’s eighth-largest iron ore reserves, totaling 12.5 billion tons, and ranks second globally in manganese ore reserves, estimated at 600 million tons. Copper reserves stand at approximately 36 million tons. The country also contains 30 percent of global chromite deposits and 95 percent of chromium reserves. Kazakhstan is one of the largest coal exporters to Europe, China, and Russia. With Russian coal exports reduced due to sanctions, Kazakhstan has expanded shipments to Europe, complementing its established markets in Russia and China.

Despite vast resources, Kazakhstan’s mining industry still relies on outdated Soviet-era technology and management practices, limiting development. Exports of mining equipment remain constrained by insufficient investment. In the mid-1990s, many foreign investors began exploration and development but withdrew due to a lack of transparency, weak financial incentives, arbitrary laws favoring local firms, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and unclear land tenure regulations.

Today, Kazakhstan is actively seeking investment to expand its gold industry (ranked 10th globally) and uranium sector (holding 25 percent of global reserves). The government is also prioritizing critical minerals and rare earth elements, which are vital for global energy and technology supply chains. In 2018, new subsoil usage legislation was introduced to encourage investment. Today, the mining sector is experiencing growth, with strong output in hydrocarbons, coal, and other minerals, supported by foreign investment and modernization. Current reforms, including a new mining code and initiatives through the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), aim to diversify the economy, increase raw material processing and downstream production, and attract strategic partnerships. Key developments include a planned shift to royalties, infrastructure upgrades to address logistics challenges, and expanded cooperation in critical minerals.

Leading Sub-sectors

Kazakhstan remains an attractive market for U.S. mining equipment and machinery suppliers. Demand is strong for bulldozers, drilling equipment, explosives, trucks, drill rigs, trams, cranes, crushing and pulverizing machinery, dredges, hydraulic excavators, quarrying equipment, elevators, compressors, hammer mills, and specialized trucks. Transporting large equipment can be challenging due to the need to avoid northern routes through Russia, often requiring dismantling for shipment.

Key sales prospects include diamond drilling contractors and service providers offering geological, geochemical, and geophysical surveying. Companies that address environmental issues such as erosion, sinkhole formation, biodiversity loss, and contamination of groundwater and surface water will also find substantial demand. Technologies that minimize environmental harm are particularly sought after as Kazakhstan modernizes its mining practices.

Opportunities 

More than half of Kazakhstan’s mining, processing, and smelting enterprises operate with outdated equipment that frequently requires repair, and nearly all facilities lack environmentally friendly technologies. With no domestic mining machinery industry, Kazakhstan relies heavily on Russian imports. U.S. firms have opportunities to supply used and refurbished equipment, turnkey project management services, and advanced environmental technologies.

Kazakhstan possesses substantial reserves of rare earth elements (REEs), copper, lithium, tungsten, tantalum, and other materials essential for modern technologies and the energy transition. The Ministry of Industry and Construction has identified nine lithium oxide deposits in East Kazakhstan, Almaty, and Kyzylorda; two copper sandstone deposits containing osmium and rhenium oxide in Karaganda; and 18 tantalum deposits, 12 of which also contain niobium. Sixteen additional areas show strong prospects for beryllium, yttrium, niobium, tungsten, gallium, cesium, and more.

In 2025, Kazakhstan’s critical minerals sector was characterized by surging global demand and government efforts to position the country as a key supplier for the minerals that power innovation. Abundant reserves of copper, silver, silicon, and rare earth elements are attracting foreign investment, supported by regulatory reforms, infrastructure upgrades, and platforms like the AIFC. The focus is shifting from raw material exports to value-added processing and downstream production, with an emphasis on sustainable practices and international cooperation.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has played a significant role in supporting this transition. Between 2012 and 2018, USGS conducted mineral resource assessments in Kazakhstan and Central Asia. In March 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to apply advanced geological survey technology and develop databases. In February 2025, USGS and Kazakhstan’s Committee on Geology established a cooperative program for capacity building and resource assessment. These agreements highlight growing interest in Kazakhstan’s rare earth reserves and signal further foreign investment. The collaboration aims to strengthen U.S.–Kazakhstan partnerships, diversify supply chains, and integrate Kazakhstan into the global critical minerals market.

Resources

Key Stakeholders

Trade Events

  • Astana Mining & Metallurgy Congress 2026
  • Mining and Metals Central Asia 2026
     

For more information on the critical minerals and mining sector, contact Commercial Specialist Azhar.Kadrzhanova@trade.gov

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