Geologists in Karagandy Uncover Rare Earth Element Deposit
Geologists in Karagandy make groundbreaking discovery of rare earth metals
Geologists from Karagandy, working under the state program for geological exploration, have made a significant discovery at the Kuirektykol site located 300 kilometers southeast of Astana in the Karkaraly district. The team has identified several promising areas with large resources of rare earth metals, estimated at around one million tons.
The site is situated within an ancient volcanic structure formed by extinct volcanoes and altered by magmatic processes. The most promising areas for mineralization are the Irgiz and Dos 2 regions, where rare earth element concentrations exceed 0.1%, with some samples reaching up to 0.25%.
Preliminary assessments based on core sampling indicate that the reserves in the Irgiz area alone may contain around 800,000 tons of rare earth metals with an average content of over 0.1%. Additional exploration work, funded by a private geological exploration company, has revealed a promising new area named Zhana Kazakhstan, extending to the south and west of the Kuirektykol site. This area is projected to hold over 20 million tons of rare earth metals.
The unique rare earth mineralization found in Kazakhstan positions the country as a new industrial player in this sector. If further confirmed, the identified deposits and promising areas could propel Kazakhstan to a leading position in the global rare earth element reserves, facilitating the rapid development of the high-tech rare earth metal industry.
