Kazakh PM orders developing production of materials for batteries, nickel alloysKazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov has ordered focusing efforts on exploring the subsoil, accounting for manmade resources, developing the production of battery materials and nickel alloys, the government press service said in a statement.Bektenov gave this instruction following a meeting on the progress in implementing the president's directives on the development of rare and rare earth metals industry, noting the need to retrofit existing production facilities and infrastructure, and expand geological exploration."Following the meeting, the prime minister ordered focusing efforts on in-depth study of the subsoil, accelerating the accounting and inclusion of manmade mineral formations in the state balance, developing the production of materials for batteries and their processing, as well as the active production of heat-resistant nickel alloys," the statement said.Additionally, the meeting participants focused on setting up a Regional Research Center for Rare and Rare Earth Metals based on the state-run National Center for Technological Forecasting.The production of rare and rare earth metals in the Kazakh metallurgical industry accounts for 2.4%, the Ministry of Industry and Construction said. The state funding for the industry has totaled 67 billion tenge since 2018.Large-scale geological exploration work is underway: 25 sites at a scale of 1:50,000 with a total area of 100,000 square kilometers are being studied. Thirty-eight promising deposits of solid minerals were discovered in 2024. The geological and geophysical exploration of the country in 2025 will amount to 2.038 million square kilometers, and by 2026, it will reach 2.2 million square kilometers (the total area of the country is 2.725 million square kilometers).Beryllium, tantalum, niobium, scandium, titanium, rhenium, and osmium are currently produced in Kazakhstan, and bismuth, antimony, selenium and tellurium are extracted along the way, it said. Additionally, there are technologies for extracting gallium and indium."The production and recycling of battery materials, heat-resistant alloys, the production of semiconductor materials and the recycling of permanent magnets are promising areas of the industry," the statement said.The government also reminded of the measures being taken to further develop the industry: a comprehensive plan for 2024-2028 is being implemented, and funds have been allocated for retrofitting the rare metals workshop at the state-run Zhezkazganredmet. To attract investors, access to geological data, including on rare and rare earth metals, has been provided. (ICE ALMATY)

Fonte notizia: INTERFAX