1. Mineral Resources
  2. Online Spatial Data
  3. Mineral Resource Data System (MRDS)

Balkhash Complex

Plant in Kazakhstan with commodities Copper, Rubidium
Map
XML
JSON
KML
C
Sections on this page
  1. Identification information
  2. Geographic coordinates
  3. Site location context
  4. Geographic areas
  5. Commodities
  6. Nearby scientific data
  7. Economic information about the deposit and operations
  8. Mineral rights holdings
  9. Ownership information
  10. Production statistics
  11. Links to other databases
  12. Bibliographic references
  13. Reporter information

Geologic information

Identification information

Deposit ID 10206724
MAS/MILS ID 4590000141
Record type Site
Current site name Balkhash Complex
Alternate or previous names Balqash

Geographic coordinates

Point of reference Plant
Geographic coordinates: 74.66736, 46.93125 (WGS84)
Location accuracy 10000(meters)

Site location context

Political divisions (FIPS codes)

Kazakhstan(country)

Geographic areas

Country
Kazakhstan

Commodities

Commodity Importance
Copper Primary
Rubidium Critical Primary

Nearby scientific data

Plant (1) 74.66736, 46.93125
ListMap

Economic information

Economic information about the deposit and operations

Operation type Processing Plant
Development status Plant
Commodity type Metallic
Significant Yes
Year of first production 1938
Plant type Smelter
Plant subcategory Smelter-Pyrometallurgy
Milling method Flotation

Mineral rights holdings

Type of mineral rights Unknown

Ownership information

  • Type Owner
    Owner Government Of Kazakhstan
    Interest 100
    Home office Cis
    Year 1990

Production statistics

  • Year 1995
    Description Copper Metal 150000 Mt/Yr
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Copper Copper 150000mt
  • Year 1995
    Description Copper Ore 200000 Mt/Yr
    Importance Item Commodity Group Amount recovered Grade Recovery percentage
    Major Ore Copper Copper 200000mt

Comments on the production information

  • DATA FROM COMD SPEC. 1997 BASED ON 1995 DATA.
  • PRODUCTION CAPACITY WAS NOT QUOTED BUT CURRENT PRODUCTION RATES WERE 35,000 MT COPPER CATHODE/YR, 52,000 MT OF 99.99% CU/ YR., AND THEY ARE PRESENTLY DEVELOPING FLAT BAR PRODUCTION FOR UP TO 75,000 MT/YR. THIS BRINGS TOTAL PRODUCTION TO 162,000 METRIC TONS CU/YR. THE HIGH PURITY CU PRODUCT CURRENTLY FINDS LITTLE DEMAND. COULD THIS BE THE KOUNRAD MINE? WHICH IS LOCATED IN THE SAME AREA.

Comments on the reserve resource information

  • FEED GRADE IS CURRENTLY DROPPING AND SULFUR CONTENT IS IN- CREASING. *ADIT CAPACITY CALCULATED FROM PRODUCTION: 162,000 MTPY/16% GRADE
  • ABOUT 10-12 MILLION MT OF SLAGS ARE STOCKPILED IN THE BALKHASH AREA, ASSAYING 0.4-0.7% CU, 0.2% PB, 0.4-1.5% ZN. THESE ARE REPORTED TO CONTAIN 120,000 MT OF CU.

Comments on other economic factors

  • THEY RECENTLY INVESTED 32 MILLION RUBLES TO EXPAND FLAT CU WIRE CAPACITY.
  • BALKHASH USES A NUMBER OF SMELTING PROCESSES, FROM REVERB- ATORY FURNACES TO AUTOGENEOUS SMELTING USING THE VANIKOV PRO- CESS(SEE UST-KAMENOGORSK SMELTER). THIS IS A FLASH-OXYGEN PRO- CESS THAT TREATS ABOUT 60-80 TONS CONC./DAY. INCREASING PRESSURE IS BEING PLACED ON THE GAS HANDLING AND HYGIENE SYSTEMS OF THE PLANT DUE TO DECREASING FEED GRADE AND SULFUR CONTENT. SO2 LEVELS WERE VERY HIGH, REQUIRING ALL WORKERS TO WEAR RESPIRATORS. MATTE GRADE FOR CONVERSION IS 45- 50% CU. THE SMELTER IS NOT COMPUTERIZED. MODERN TECHNOLOGY IS SOUGHT. MINPROC NOTED A PROBLEM MATCHING FEED QUANTITIES AND GRADE TO SMELTER CAPABILITIES. DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL MINING CA- PACITY WAS CONSIDERED IMPORTANT BY SITE PERSONNEL. THERE WAS CONSIDERABLE WATER POLLUTION FROM THE FACILITY. BALKHASH DOES NOT HAVE THE CAPACITY TO TREAT SO2 GASES EX- CEEDING 25% SO2. THE BENEFICIATION PLANT CONSISTS OF THREE LEVELS OF CRUSH- ING, TWO GRINDING CIRCUITS, AND FOUR TYPES OF FLOTATION CIR- CUITS. THE ORIGINAL CONCENTRATE GRADE PLANNED TO BE 19-20% CU HAS DECREASED TO 16% CU. CONCENTRATE RECOVERY IS 83-85%(PLANNED), BUT THIS IS PRO- ABLY OPTIMISTIC.

Reference information

Bibliographic references

  • Deposit

    TRIP REPORT, FOO, K., MINPROC, 1990.

  • Deposit

    MINING MAGAZINE, JAN. 1981, P. 51.

Reporter information

Type Date Name Affiliation Comment
Reporter 10-MAR-1997 Wilburn, David R. U.S. Bureau of Mines

Beyond USGS

Supplemental information added by qvyshift.com. Not part of the original USGS MRDS record.

Maps centered on this site