At the summit of Central Asia, straddling regional superpowers Russia and China to the north and east respectively, sits the vast and resource rich nation of Kazakhstan. Despite Kazakhstan’s mining industry suffering a significant retrenchment in both investment activity and production output throughout the global financial crisis’ most acute period in 2009, the mining sector is now forecast to enjoy high rates of sustained growth over the short to medium term.

As the planet’s ninth largest country, covering 2,717,300 square kilometers, Kazakhstan dominates its Southern Central Asian neighbors both in terms of land mass and mineral wealth. Despite Kazakhstan’s full portfolio of mineral resources being far from fully understood, proven resource figures are truly staggering. Of greatest interest are Kazakhstan’s world leading reserves of uranium, chromite, zinc, copper, gold and manganese. Despite Kazakhstan’s position as a de facto landlocked country and suffering from extremes of climate, its mineral wealth has colossal potential for development. These circumstances have galvanized a rush of both domestic and international investment over the past 15 years.