Kazakhstan’s mining sector lacks up-, mid-, downstream interrelations

Subsoil industries account for more than half of Kazakhstan’s industrial output in nominal cash value, or close to 10.75 trillion Kazakh tenge out of just over 19 trillion through the first eight months of this year, the latest update by the national statistics agency reads. Investments into the subsoil sectors made up for 49.7 percent of the total capital expenditures of just over KZT7.36 trillion, up 10.7% year-on-year, and amounted to just over KZT3.66tr, up 29.7% on-year, Subsoil products accounted for 72.3 percent of Kazakhstan’s e3xports through the first seven months of the year.

Metal ore mining in Kazakhstan comes second after crude oil production. Over the first eight months of the current calendar year it was valued, nominally and in the local currency, at just below 1.24 trillion Kazakh tenge, up 15.6 percent year-on-year, statistics read. But since the tenge lost roughly the same percentage in value against hard currencies, production value remained about flat.

Small gains expressed in hard currency were posted by non-ferrous metals, up 17.9% on-year to the nominal amount of KZT972.632bn, while ferrous ore mining was up 2.2% on-year to KZT264.41bn.

Midstream metallurgy in Kazakhstan during the period under review accounted for just over KZT3,19 trillion, up 1.7% on-year, including ferrous metals worth just over KZT1.13tr, down 5.3% and non-ferrous metals just topping 2 trillion tenge, up 7.8% on-year, according to statistics.

In physical volumes, Kazakhstan produced just over 3 million tones of unrefined steel during the period, down 1.2% on-year. Flat-rolled half-fabricate was down 25.6% on-year to just over 1,5 million tone, while ferroalloys’ output rose 7.8% topping 1.466mt.

Aluminum and aluminum oxide amounted to just over 1.1 million tonnes, down 7.2% on-year. Base zinc output rose 1.6% on-year just topping 216,000 tonnes, while base copper and its half-fabricates were up 11.8% on-year to 313,265 tonnes.

Through roughly in line with global price fluctuations, valuations of Kazakhstan’s mining output fails to be explained in detail. On September 3 this year, copper fell to a two-year low at the London Metal Exchange, down 1.1% at $5,560 per tonne, while aluminum shed 0.3% to $1,744, lead lost 1.1% to $1,998 and zinc was bid down 1.9% to $2,202, having fallen to its lowest in three years, and tin shed 2.3% to $16,420, Reuters reported.

By Charles van der Leeuw based on data from the National Statistics Agency of Kazakhstan.