In the Republic of Kazakhstan chemical 50 elements are produced from extracted ores and the final products comprise of metals, alloys and chemical products including refined copper and lead, zinc, titanium, magnesium, rare metals, rare earth elements and their compounds, rolled cop-per, and lead.
The main branches of the non-ferrous metallurgy in Kazakhstan are copper, lead and zinc and, more recently, aluminum, titanium and magnesium. Each of these branches is of interstate importance and is represented by open cast mines, pit mines, and ore processing plants, which sometimes are combined under the ownership of different groups of enterprises. This organizational form of non-ferrous metals production in Kazakhstan is related to the low content of pure metal - from 1% up to 5-6 % and scattered metals - even less than 1%. Therefore ores of non-ferrous metals undergo repeated dressing and only then are concentrates with high metal contents produced. Usually ore contains some useful components and each of them is derived separately through different operations, depending on the complex processing the raw materials.
Kazchrome JSC, Aluminum Kazakhstan JSC, the Shymkent lead plant, Balkhashmys JSC, and the Kazakhmys corporation are the industry leaders. The products of these companies have frequently been accepted as the standard at the London non-ferrous metals exchange.
The non-ferrous metallurgy sector it is vitally necessary to ensure the development of a raw material base, to deepen processing, to diversify the nomenclature of products, to continue realization of the " Gold of Kazakhstan" program and to keep and expand Kazakhstan's position in the world market.
The main development directions of the non-ferrous metallurgy industry include:
- The development of a steady market (both domestic and international);
- The restoration of the raw material base of the country, which has rich internal resources;
- The creation of a system of enterprises involving independent manufacturers and the organization of independent business operations;
- The maintenance of a reliable power supply - essential for such power-intensive industries;
- The maintenance of a rational ratio between raw materials and manufactured products; and
- The development of measures to prevent environmental pollution Non-Ferrous Metallurgy
