KAZAKHSTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Timur Odilov, Mikhail Abdulov, Olzhas Abubakirov and Dauren Sadykov, Haller Lomax LLP
1. Mining Law: General Framework 1.1 Main Features of the Mining Industry Mining holds an important role in Republic of Kazakhstan’s (RoK) industrial framework, mak - ing a substantial contribution of 13.2% to the country’s GDP during the period of January to September 2024. The country has approximately 8,000 differ - ent deposits 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 uranium, chromite, coal, iron, steel, copper, manganese, bauxite, tung - sten, silver, lead, titan, gold and zinc. The largest mining companies operating in Kazakhstan include Eurasian Resources Group, Kazakhmys, Kazzinc, Kaz Minerals, Kazatom - prom, QARMET (previously known as Arcelor - Mittal), Solidcore Resources (previously known as Polymetal), RG Gold, Rio Tinto, Central Asia Metals, and 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 segregates 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 to licence holders, licence condi - tions, project documents, exploration and min - ing operations, transfer of mineral titles and interests in licence holders, treatment and dis - posal of mining waste (called as technical min -
eral formations), mine closure and reclamation, reporting, etc. Based on the regulatory approach of the West - ern Australian 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 recogni - tion of resource and reserves reports prepared under the national instrument KAZRC (based on CRIRSCO template) by the state. However, a temporary transition period initially provided 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 Con - struction (MIC), has been extended until January 2026 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 Cen - tre (AIFC) operates under a common law frame - work, in areas such as corporate law, commer - cial 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 min - eral titles granted both under licences issued following enactment of the SSU Code as well as the subsoil use contracts for exploration, pro - duction and combined exploration and produc -
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