Kazakhstan chromium mine gears up for production
One of Kazakhstan’s largest chromium mines is all set to reopen this December with a new name after a massive programme of expansion.
Now known as ‘Tzentralnaya’ – meaning; ‘The Tenth Anniversary of Kazakhstan's Independence Mine’, the mine is currently coming to the end of a $130 million investment programme that will give it a service life of 100 years. It will also see production rise from 1999’s figure of 172,000 tonnes to two million tonnes by the end of 2006, by which time a further $35.4 million will have been invested.
According to the mine’s operator, Donskoy Ore Mining and Processing, with an oxide content of 50%, Kazakh-mined chrome is the best in the world. The Kazakh government is hopeful of the country becoming the world’s largest producer of chrome, once Tzentralnaya gets up to full production.
