ASTANA, Kazakhstan, November 11. Kazakhstan’s gold reserves increased by around 98 tons as a result of recent geological exploration, Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction Iran Sharkhan said at a government meeting, Trend reports.
He presented an update on the country’s subsoil use and exploration activities, noting that 103 types of mineral resources and about 10,000 deposits are currently registered nationwide. More than 2,900 licenses and 250 subsoil use contracts are in effect.
According to Sharkhan, five new deposits - Kok-Zhon, Altyn-Shoko, Samombet, Studenchesky, and Takyr-Kaldzhir - were officially added to the state register following exploration work.
"The total increase in reserves includes approximately 98 tons of gold, 36,000 tons of copper, 11 million tons of manganese, and over 1.3 million tons of phosphorites," the deputy minister added.