Akmaya Tungsten breached procurement rules on 111.5 million tenge exploration spend

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Akmaya Tungsten failed to comply with procurement regulations for goods and services, according to its 2025 financial report. The company's exploration costs of 111,482 thousand tenge were incurred in violation of Kazakhstan's rules for subsoil users. The breach relates to mining license No. 101-ML for the Akmaya tungsten deposit in Karaganda region.
Key Facts
- Akmaya Tungsten's exploration costs of 111,482 thousand tenge in 2025 were incurred in violation of procurement rules for subsoil users.
- The violation relates to mining license No. 101-ML, issued in May 2024 for 25 years on the Akmaya deposit in Shet district, Karaganda region, covering 4,546 sq km.
- The company failed to meet the obligation to finance research and development at 1% of previous year's mining expenses.
- In January 2026, Akmaya Tungsten agreed with the authorized body to postpone the commissioning of the rare metals processing complex from 2025 to 2028.
Procurement Violations
Akmaya Tungsten's 2025 financial report states that exploration costs of 111,482 thousand tenge were incurred in violation of the established procedure for procurement of goods, works and services. The company did not comply with the Rules for the Acquisition of Goods, Works and Services by Subsoil Users and Their Contractors, approved by Order No. 355 of the Minister for Investment and Development of Kazakhstan dated May 21, 2018. The non-compliance relates to mining license No. 101-ML, issued in May 2024 for 25 years on the Akmaya deposit in Shet district, Karaganda region, with a subsoil area of 4,546 sq km.
License Obligations
Under the mining license, the minimum share of in-country value in works and services used in mining operations must be at least 50%. The license also required construction of a rare metals processing complex with commissioning in 2028 at the Akmaya deposit, with a capacity of 200,000 tonnes of ore or 352.8 tonnes of tungsten per year. In January 2026, the company agreed with the authorized body to postpone the commissioning of the complex from 2025 to 2028. The company also failed to meet the obligation to finance research, scientific, technical and/or experimental design work at 1% of mining expenses incurred in the previous year.