The 25th Jubilee World Mining Congress 2018 will be held in Kazakhstan

On June 19th-21st, 2018, the city of Astana will be hosting the 25th Jubilee World Mining Congress. Kazakhstan will be the first country among the CIS states to hold an event of such significant international importance.

The World Mining Congress is the largest and most appreciable gathering of the mining and metallurgical industry (WMC). It was first held in Warsaw (Poland) in 1958, and since then it has been taking place every 2-3 years. The WMC brings together specialists and scientists of many countries who work in the development of the solid minerals deposits. In the entire history of the Congress, the number of the participating countries has increased from 10 to 49 and continues to grow.

The Congress of 2018 will be marked with three anniversary dates: 60 years since the foundation of the WMC, the 25th Jubilee WMC session and the 20th birthday of the capital city of Astana.

Kazakhstan has been chosen to be the platform to hold the 25th Anniversary Congress not coincidentally – the resources of our country constitute a rich mineral and raw material base - represented by 99 elements of the periodic table, 70 of which have already been explored, and over 60 are actively produced. Kazakhstan is in the top ten world miners of aluminum ores; it is endowed with the CIS third-largest iron ore reserves, and is outdone only by Australia in the uranium production. Our country is consistently ranked in the list of the countries rich with the copper ores. Annually Kazakhstan produces over 100 million tons of coal. Products of the national MMI enterprises are exported to Japan, South Korea, USA, Canada, Russia, China and EU states.

The program of the 25th Jubilee World Mining Congress offers a number of the specialized sessions covering a wide range of the MMI-relevant subjects, dedicated to the geological exploration, extraction and preparation technologies, environmental issues, occupational safety, personnel training, fund-raising and world mining industry development forecasts and horizons. For instance, the “Global Business” session will be focused on the general market trends in the global mining industry based on the experience of Australia, Latin America, Africa, Canada and other countries as well as various issues related to the opening opportunities of the business process automation, return of sector investments and ten key business risks in the mining industry. The “Innovations and Industry 4.0” session will deal with the questions of digitization and application of the robotics in the mining practice, and international experts will share best practices and successful business cases of the world mining industry. The “Open Mining Works” gathering will make an accent on the fact that complications related to the mining and geological conditions, putting into production poorer deposits, deepening of the underground works, environmental degradation and necessity to move towards the “green” economy arise a row of technological problems that can only be resolved systemically within the close relationships between the science and the manufacturing sphere and with the development of the innovations based on the most advanced world-class technologies alongside with the strong investment and technology partnership.

«The role of digital technology and innovation at mining operations is becoming more and more prevalent and with the vast array of equipment providers and technology-focussed talks, this is what I am most interested and looking to learn.
The application of digital technologies is changing the face of mining, so I am particularly curious as to the potential, how this impacts a mining company’s profit line and also of any kind of projects going on in Eurasia», - comments the congress program Mr. Lyccet (Mines&Money team)

The endeavor to achieve maximum synergies will be continued by the 24th International Mining Exploration & Mining Equipment Exhibition “Mining World Central Asia” that will take place under the auspices of the 25th World Mining Congress. Holding of this exhibition is not new for Kazakhstan – every year this event is attended by more than 200 companies from different parts of the world which showcase over 300 brands. Participants of the exhibition have a unique opportunity to bring their products into the markets of the Central Asian Region, expand their sales geography and demonstrate latest developments and new services. Thanks to such tradeshows, the exhibiting companies get a chance to establish rewarding business connections, secure long-term collaboration with the partners, create joint ventures, launch new projects and arrange new manufacturing hubs and facilities. More than that, the exhibition creates a favorable environment for its attendees to meet potential customers and identify their needs. This year over 250 companies representing 24 states have reported their desire to take part in the activities of Mining World Central Asia.

The Congress has also plans for a series of the excursions which will allow participants of the WMC to get familiarized with the industrial enterprises and academic institutions of Kazakhstan. As of now, guests of the WMC are welcome at the gold refinery plant of Tau-Ken Altyn LLP (Astana), Vassilkovskoye gold ore field of Altyntau Kokshetau (Akmola region), Bozshakol copper mine of KAZ Minerals Company (Pavlodar region), the Kazakhstanskaya mine of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC (the city of Shakhtinsk of Karaganda region), Karaganda Metallurgical Complex of ArcelorMittal Temirtau JSC (the city of Temirtau of Karaganda region).

Another important aspect to mention is that the WMC 2018 will also comprise the international investment conference Mines&Money Eurasia which is an event from the leading worldwide series of activities aimed at the capital-raising and investment attraction into the mining sector. As estimated by experts, Kazakhstan has the same production potential as Australia, and the difference is only in the fact that Australia has already started developing most of its mineral deposits, while many of the Kazakhstani reserves are waiting to be discovered. The goal of the Mines&Money Eurasia Conference is to demonstrate promising project opportunities of the Kazakhstan market, and its organizers will arrange meetings with the managers of the stock shares, heads of the private trade chambers, hedge funds and family offices as well as junior companies which are looking forward to work in Kazakhstan. The Conference agenda will raise various issues on how to find funding for a mining project in Central Asia, how global financial markets and currency dynamics will influence gold prices in 2018 and in future, which metals are currently worth investing, what changes are anticipated for today’s subsoil users when the new Law on the Subsoil comes into force and so much more.

Mining and metallurgical industry is one of the key economic spheres of Kazakhstan. The MMI makes up 18 % in the total structure of the industrial manufacturing of the country, and in respect of the overall volume of the solid minerals production the Republic of Kazakhstan ranks 13th in the world among 70 mining countries. According to the assessment of specialists, the area of the prospecting subsoil sites of Kazakhstan available for investments exceeds 1 million 138 thousand square kilometers which makes our country a very attractive partner in the mining sector circles. This is why the organizers of the WMC expect a serious increase in the number of geological exploration and production projects resulting from the event.

The World Mining Congress 2018 will take place in Astana, in the Congress-Center located within the territory of EXPO 2017. The Congress will be attended by more than 1200 delegates from 50 countries, 368 author speakers from 37 countries, 58 associations from 23 countries and 79 universities from 27 countries, including delegations from Australia, Austria, Canada, Norway and France. Such honored guests as the Prime-Minister of the Republic of Poland, Mateusz Morawiecki, Mongolian Mining Industry Minister, Dolgorsurengiin Sumjaabazar, Executive Director of Zijin Mining Group Co. Top Mining (China), George Fang, Toronto Stock Exchange Mining Division Head, Dean McPherson, Mining Department Head of ThyssenKrupp Industrial Solutions AG, Torsten Gerlach (Germany) and any others are expected to take part in the event.

The Organizer of the WMC 2018:
Ministry for Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Co-organizer of the WMC 2018:
The Republican Association of the Mining and Metallurgical Enterprises
The WMC’s motto:
“Innovative superiority is a step forward on the way to the growth of the world mining industry”
Date and venue of the event:
June 19th -21st, 2018, the city of Astana (Kazakhstan), EXPO 2017 Congress Center