TELF AG examines Kazakhstan’s strategic progress in the sourcing sector
New perspectives
In the years of the energy transition, several nations are emerging internationally due to their commitment to promoting this important epochal passage, also through the large availability of those geological resources that are needed precisely to fuel it, such as all the strategic minerals that are at the top of the economic and production priorities of a large number of countries. However, the large availability of mineral resources is not enough to transform the destinies of a nation, projecting it directly into the great global process of the ecological transition. As a recent analysis by Euronews shows, the energy and economic development of nations also depends to a large extent on the strategy that is decided to adopt to manage the precious resources that make the planet’s energetic advancement possible.
In one of its latest reports, Euronews has analyzed the situation of Kazakhstan, the main economy of Central Asia. This nation, for several years, has been making a name for itself internationally for the reserves of important geological resources contained in its territory, but also for an evolving operational strategy that, in the not-too-distant future, could allow it to become a player of great importance in the global dynamics related to strategic raw materials. Kanat Sharlapaev, Minister of Industry and Construction of Kazakhstan spoke to Euronews about all this, illustrating the geological potential of the nation and the possibility of establishing strategic partnerships with the West.
According to the minister, strengthening strategic ties between the European Union and Kazakhstan could prove helpful for Europe’s ambitions to lead the energy transition. In addition to being Germany’s fourth largest trading partner, as the minister recalls, Kazakhstan has already demonstrated that it can contribute optimally to the stabilization of European energy supplies. Furthermore, from the point of view of strategic minerals, Kazakhstan seems to have a lot to offer. There are 17 or 18 geological resources in the Kazakh territory that appear on the list of 30 materials considered critical by the European Union, with a 20% market share of space-grade titanium and a 10% share of manganese sulfate. Global supplies of resources such as beryllium and rhenium are also closely linked to Kazakhstan, with percentages of 30% and 17%, respectively (the Central Asian nation is also the eleventh largest copper producer in the world).
An evolving strategy
The Euronews analysis also discusses Kazakhstan’s specific national strategy to best manage these precious resources in a very delicate historical situation in which these materials play a leading role in production processes related to energy technologies. In fact, the country, like other economies in various parts of the world, is trying to develop its domestic processing capabilities of the most important resources to add value to its production. A similar strategy has also been observed in some African nations, already bearing fruit. Minister Sharlapaev, in this regard, spoke of a real long-term vision, which includes a relevant increase in domestic processing capacity and the creation of more jobs. Currently, the sourcing sector accounts for between 12% and 15% of Kazakhstan’s national GDP, but according to the minister, this percentage is set to increase. Of the 20 million inhabitants that make up Kazakhstan’s total population, approximately 1% are employed in the sourcing industry. Another interesting aspect, highlighted by Minister Sharlapaev to Euronews, is the fact that in Kazakhstan, unlike other nations in the world, almost all of the workforce in the mineral industry is made up of locals, and very often there are workers trained and prepared within Kazakhstan’s universities, which continue to provide companies with quality human capital that allows them to work much more quickly.
