en.Wedoany.com Reported - At the C5+1 Critical Minerals Dialogue held in Astana, Deputy Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan, Iran Sharkhan, revealed that South Korean partners are conducting tailings research at the Bakennoye rare metal deposit in East Kazakhstan Region.

The industrial lithium reserves of this mining area have been confirmed, and the reserves are currently undergoing registration in the national reserve balance. The next step requires organizing the processing of tailings. Since 2023, the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) has been collaborating with Kazgeology to carry out geological exploration work at Bakennoye.

The Bakennoye deposit was first discovered by Soviet geologists in the 1950s and was previously developed by Belogorsky GOK. Currently, the license for further exploration and extraction of battery metals in this area is held by Ognevsky GOK LLC.

The mining company fully funded the geological exploration work and submitted relevant reports this year. However, Iran Sharkhan emphasized that, according to Kazakhstan's subsoil law, official data can only be published after five years, i.e., in 2031.

The Deputy Minister also stated that developing the critical metals industry has become a strategic priority for Kazakhstan's long-term development. The country's raw material base contains over 100 rare metal and rare earth metal deposits.