Kazakhstan and Its Economy

For the development of any region, it is necessary to study the geographical features of that region. It is found that there are considerable topographical variations in Kazakhstan. There are large mountain ranges, hills, plateaus, valleys, plains, rivers and lakes. The highest point is the Khan Tengri peak in the Tian Shan range along the south eastern border region. The mountain ranges spread into China, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. The height of the Khan Tengri peak is around 7010 meters. All peaks of Tian Shan range are covered by snow throughout the year. The peaks of Altay range in the north eastern region are also covered by snow throughout the year. The valleys and plains have many rivers and streams. The important rivers are Ishim, Irtysh and Tobol. Three lakes are found as Balkhash Lake, Aral Sea and Caspian Sea. Most of the rivers and streams join these lakes. But some streams also disappear into the deserts and steppes. The Irtysh River is important water way in this region. It originates in the Altay Mountain range in Mongolia. It moves into China and enters Kazakhstan. Again it moves into Siberia of Russia. Boats move from Kazakhstan to Russia and carry goods in the summer months.

Development of mineral resources is key to the growth and progress of Kazakhstan. It is found that various minerals are concentrated in particular region. A pattern of mineral distribution is established in all the regions of Kazakhstan. Minerals like gold, bauxite; iron ore, nickel- cobalt ore, zircon, rutile, ilmenite, asbestos and diamond are found in northern region. The eastern region has deposits of gold, rutile, ilmenite, rare earth minerals, and copper ore, lead and zinc ore. The central part is rich in minerals of copper, iron, manganese, tungsten, molybdenum, lead and zinc. The central region has most of the coal deposits. The southern region has deposits of phosphates, and uranium. The western region has deposits of potash, borax, chromite and copper. This region has reserves of oil and natural gas. Iron ore deposits are found in Hostanai province of central region. Iron ore deposits are also found in northern region. More than twelve big deposits are identified for mining of iron ore. The estimated reserves of iron ore in Kazakhstan is more than 12.5 billion tons. The average grade is 39 percent of iron content. The annual production of iron ore is around 17 million tons. The important iron ore mines are Sokolovoskoye, Sarbaiskoye, Lisakovskoye, Kurzhunkolskoye, Katcharskoye and Atasukoye. The iron ore produced are supplied to the Arcelor Mittal integrated steel plant at Temirtau in the Karaganda province of the central region of Kazakhstan. The remaining iron ores are exported to Russia and Ukraine. The Sokolovskoye--Sarbaiskoye Mining Production Association is the largest producer of iron ore in Kazakhstan

Bauxite is found in northern and central region. Major workings are found in the Kostanai province in the central region. Manganese deposits are found in the iron ore belt. The manganese ores are used in steel and ferroalloys industries. Major deposits are found in Zapandry, Kara Zhan and Ushkatyn. Chromite ores are found in Kempirasoy ultrabasic belt in western Kazakhstan. Uranium deposits are found in many places of southern Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is the largest producer of uranium in the world. Uranium is supplied to countries like Russia, Ukraine, China and India.Underground mining is carried out for extraction of uranium minerals. Some important mines are Tootkuduk mines, Myunkum mines, Budenovskoye mines, Inkai mines and, South Inkai mines new deposits are also found in places like Syndaryinsoya and Sartsuyskoya. New uranium project is started at Tselinny and Akdala. Kazatomprom is the state agency to deal with survey, mining processing and trading of uranium in Kazakhstan