Iron ore production in Kazakhstan increased by 19.3% in May

Kazakhstan produced 4.957 million tons of iron ore from its mineral deposits in May, an annual increase of 19.3%.

Comparing April and May of this year, ore production increased by 1.8%. In the first five months of 2024, Kazakhstan produced approximately 23 million tons of iron ore, a 21.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

Iron ore concentrate production in May remained nearly at the same level, with a slight annual decrease of 0.1%, totaling just over 710,000 tons. During January-May 2024, steel producers produced 3.16 million tons of concentrate, a 4.2% annual decrease. However, production increased by 6.2% compared to April 2024.

Additionally, in May, iron ore pellet production increased by 15%, reaching 542,100 tons compared to 460,800 tons in May 2023. Overall, in the first five months, pellet production increased by 22.4% annually, reaching approximately 2.54 million tons.

It should be noted that at the beginning of June, the Sokolovsko-Sarbaisky Mining and Processing Production Association presented a project for iron ore mining on the southern side of the Sarbaisky open-pit mine. According to the company statement, this project will significantly reduce ore costs this year. Between June and December 2024, 1.1 million tons of iron ore will be developed, and 5.5 million tons of iron ore are planned to be produced by the end of 2026.

The project aims to produce more than 500,000 tons of iron ore concentrate from the raw material extracted in 2024.