KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Timur Odilov, Mikhail Abdulov, Olzhas Abubakirov and Alnur Dauylbay, Haller Lomax LLP
1. Mining Law: General Framework 1.1 Main Features of the Mining Industry Mining holds an important role in Republic of Kazakh - stan’s (RoK) industrial framework, making a substan - tial contribution of 12.7% to the country’s GDP during the period of January to September 2025. The country has approximately 9,500 different depos - its of solid minerals, aggregates and hydrocarbons, according to the state’s records. Kazakhstan is a prominent producer of diverse minerals and currently holds the top position globally in the mining of ura - nium, chromite, coal, iron, steel, copper, manganese, bauxite, tungsten, silver, lead, titanium, gold and zinc. The largest mining companies operating in Kazakh - stan include Eurasian Resources Group, Kazakhmys, National Mining Company Tau-Ken Samruk, Kazzinc, Kaz Minerals, Kazatomprom, QARMET (previously known as ArcelorMittal), Solidcore Resources (previ - ously known as Polymetal), Rio Tinto, Central Asia Metals, Fortescue Metals Group, etc. The Code on Subsoil and Subsoil Use (the “SSU Code”), which was adopted on 27 December 2017 and became effective on 29 June 2018, distinctly seg - regates the regulatory provisions for solid minerals from those applicable to hydrocarbons and uranium. The SSU Code regulates matters such as access to geological data in the state’s possession, granting mineral titles in the form of licences, requirements for licence holders, licence conditions, project docu - ments, exploration and mining operations, transfer of mineral titles and interests in licence holders, treat - ment and disposal of mining waste (classed as tech - nogenic mineral formations), mine closure and recla - mation, reporting, etc. Based on the regulatory approach of the Western Aus - tralian Mining Act and Canadian mining laws, the SSU Code for the first time introduced the “first come – first served” licence allocation mechanism in Kazakhstan. Moreover, the SSU Code introduced recognition of resource and reserves reports prepared under the
national instrument KAZRC (based on the CRIRSCO template) by the state. However, a temporary transition period initially provid - ed until January 2024 to allow reporting on resources and reserves under soviet-era standards of the State Commission for Reserves (GKZ standards) under the Geology Committee (GeoCom) of the Ministry of Industry and Construction (MIC), has been extend - ed for mining contracts and licences issued before 31 December 2023 and there is a mandate for the GeoCom to consider and reject KAZRC reports on resources and reserves before registering them at state mineral records. 1.2 Legal System and Sources of Mining Law Kazakhstan has a civil-based legal system. However, the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) oper - ates under a common law framework, in areas such as corporate law, commercial law, dispute resolution, labour regulations, personal data protection, currency regulation and other related domains. The main legislative act governing the mining industry is the SSU Code, which applies to mineral titles grant - ed both under licences issued following the enact - ment of the SSU Code as well as under the subsoil use contracts for exploration, production, and com - bined exploration and production of solid minerals executed prior to the enactment of the SSU Code. There are also several government resolutions and an extensive list of subordinated by-laws of the mining authority (currently the MIC) which regulate specific issues and procedures in the exploration and mining sectors. Other main legislative acts applicable to the explora - tion and mining activity include: • the Environmental Code of 2 January 2021 (the “Environmental Code”); • the Tax Code of 18 July 2025 (the “Tax Code”); • the Land Code of 20 June 2003 (the “Land Code”); • the Business Code of 29 October 2015 (the “Busi - ness Code”); • the Law on Precious Metals and Precious Stones of 14 January 2016; and
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