Kazakhstan was rocked by news of a coal-mining accident in the central Karaganda region that killed 46 people
making it the deadliest incident in post-Soviet Kazakhstan’s mining industry
It was also a tragic reminder of the cost associated with dependence on coal — one of the dirtiest fuel sources — to meet the country’s energy needs
Approximately 70% of Kazakhstan’s electricity comes from this carbon-intensive fossil fuel
much of which is mined using outdated Soviet infrastructure
This accident came on the heels of a rather different event involving Kazakhstan’s energy industry
Just two days before and some 280 miles southwest of Karaganda in the country’s most important copper mining town of Zhezkazgan
signed a memorandum with the Chinese state-owned company SinoHydro and Kazakhstan’s TechnoGroupService LLP to build wind turbine towers
The proposed plant is set to bring $30 million in investment and 230 new jobs to Zhezkazgan
in which a wind farm with a capacity of 1 gigawatt will be built in the nearby Zhanaarka district; enough to power the entire Ulytau region
where Zhezkazgan and Zhanaarka are located
It is anticipated that subsequent phases of the project will bring further investment
For a region that has long relied on the copper mining industry and has paid the price of decades of environmental degradation and poor health indicators among its residents
The consensus among the Chinese investors and their Kazakhstani partners is that Zhezkazgan can become a new hub for manufacturing “clean” energy equipment
But there is a critical gap between manufacturing renewable energy equipment and transforming Zhezkazgan into a healthy
sustainable environment that supports the people who live there
While Kazakhstan has not shied away from declaring ambitious climate goals and positioning itself as a key player in the global energy transition
means the path to a bright and prosperous green future is neither simple nor straightforward
countries pursuing energy transition are hungry for minerals
Decarbonization requires substantial scaling-up of renewable energy and electric vehicle (EV) deployment
which will put an unprecedented strain on Earth’s mineral resources
Given that the gap between supply and demand in global mineral markets keeps growing
and that China currently dominates the global supply chains of critical minerals
many countries are actively exploring new frontiers to secure supplies
Mining is a pillar of Kazakhstan’s economy
contributing an estimated 17% of the country’s gross domestic product
GDP.) Mineral and metal products accounted for 78% of Kazakhstan’s exports in 2023
for which Kazakhstan is a major global supplier
the steppe nation is also endowed with abundant ferrous and nonferrous metals essential for renewable energy equipment
Kazakhstan’s production and reserves of copper — a core material in solar panels
such as EV batteries — both place it in the top 15 countries globally
and the metal accounted for about 8% of its exports in 2021
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has enhanced Kazakhstan’s appeal as a global supplier of minerals
International players in the hunt for raw materials for their decarbonization dreams have ramped up efforts to engage this nation
the European Union (EU) established a strategic partnership with Kazakhstan on sustainable raw materials
Critical mineral supply was a key issue of discussion during President Joe Biden’s meeting with the five Central Asian leaders at the C5+1 presidential summit in September 2023
(Underscoring the significance of the meeting
this was the first time in the summit’s eight-year history that a U.S
has invested heavily in Kazakhstan’s mineral resources
in May 2023 the Ministry of Energy of Kazakhstan signed a quadripartite memorandum with two Chinese companies and one Kazakhstani company on the construction of a wind farm in Zhambyl Region together with factories for the production of nacelles (casings)
with a population of approximately 19.5 million
stands to gain economic benefits as well as regional influence from these emerging partnerships
The administration of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev appears eager to furnish other countries with the minerals and metals needed for the energy transition
Kazakhstan’s minerals are exported to the EU
Kazakhstan boasted that it would be able to supply the EU with all the critical raw materials it needs
It currently produces 19 of the 34 critical raw materials the EU lists as essential to its economy and exports some of these to Europe in large quantities
According to the Diplomatic Service of the European Union
the EU’s strategic partnership with Kazakhstan on raw materials is part of its “policy to ensure access to a secure
affordable and sustainable supply.” Unlike the trade in fossil fuels
trade in the minerals required for manufacturing renewable energy equipment can be readily labeled as green or sustainable
But the “green” energy label applied to projects such as that in Zhezkazgan disguises the environmental pitfalls of this investment
Although wind power is widely considered an environmentally friendly source of energy
the manufacturing process for wind turbines is not
are made almost exclusively of steel and concrete
Copper is also an essential component of wind turbine towers
Such a plant will mean intensified mineral extraction and metal production that may exacerbate existing ecological and social problems: water
soil and air pollution; mining-related diseases; high levels of industrial injuries; and a lack of economic diversification
The idea that foreign capital and scaled-up renewable energy deployment in Kazakhstan might offset the environmental and societal burdens of mining and metallurgy remains uncertain
whose past has been shaped by copper deposits in its vicinity in ways closely associated with various forms of colonization and appropriation
there is a risk of history repeating itself
an imperial Russian bureaucrat and geographer
recorded the presence of abundant copper ore around present-day Zhezkazgan as early as 1760
“There were numerous pine trees and birches
as well as copper deposits,” wrote Rychkov in his scholarly account of the region
“Topography of the Orenburg Province.” At a time when the Russian Empire was thirsty for precious metals to export to Europe
mineral ores on the Kazakh steppe became an important driver of Russia’s expansion into Central Asia
building mines and factories was essential to the well-being of the state and society
as well as an effective measure to tame the nomads on the steppe
Eight decades passed before the copper ores Rychkov described were officially entered into the Russian imperial registry as the Dzhezkazgan copper deposit
(The Kazakh spelling of the mine and the city were reclaimed after the collapse of the Soviet Union.) Fittingly
“Zhezkazgan” means “place for digging copper” in the Kazakh language
It wasn’t until the early 20th century that substantive industrial operations in Zhezkazgan began under a British-owned company
These earliest industrial endeavors were soon interrupted by wars and revolutions sweeping the Eurasian continent
and following the Bolshevik takeover of Central Asia in 1918
the region became integrated into the Soviet model of development
with highly centralized planning of how resources were mobilized and an emphasis on heavy industry
when a short revival of the market economy and private initiatives under the New Economic Policy ended
Soviet scientists conducted a series of geological expeditions in Kazakhstan and discovered more mineral ores
“Every year our geologists and farmers find massive interesting [mineral] samples
There are so many of them that there’s nowhere to put them,” noted a leading geologist in Kazakhstan in 1940
These discoveries led to the establishment of a working village near the Zhezkazgan deposit
which in 1954 gained city status and was named after the mine
“Dzhezkazgan’s products go to the enterprises in the Urals
This young steppe city has a big future,” a Soviet journalist wrote in 1955
Zhezkazgan’s role as a raw material supplier was established
Under the Soviet system this was framed as socialist internationalism; today it’s globalization
Soviet authorities declared a plan to transform Zhezkazgan into the center of nonferrous metallurgy in the USSR
industrial facilities in the Zhezkazgan region were reorganized into the “Dzhezkazgan Mining and Metallurgical Complex,” consisting of an ore management board
a copper smelting plant and a machine-building plant
This Soviet model of the urban industrial complex compressed human and natural resources into a minimal space to maximize productivity and exploitability
plants and people were integrated into a single complex
Workers slept next to mines; factories stood across from apartments
copper could complete its full life cycle from ores to metal products
just as people might serve the mine from birth to death
was largely built upon the exploitation of forced labor from the Soviet gulag system
Zhezkazgan had grown into a crucial industrial center in Kazakhstan with a population of about 100,000
During the post-Soviet waves of privatization
succeeded in taking over almost all of Zhezkazgan’s industrial holdings
It is now the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan and one of the country’s top taxpayers
It controls not only mines and plants but also the Zhezkazgan Central Heating Plant (CHP)
A former Soviet Communist Party bureaucrat and a close ally of the first president of independent Kazakhstan
Kim was first appointed managing director and CEO of Zhezkazgantsvetmet JSC
He was elected chair of Kazakhmys in October 2005
when the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange
Forbes Kazakhstan lists Kim as the wealthiest person in the country
The changes in political and economic structures
have not led to improvements in residents’ quality of life
According to an environmental assessment conducted by the Ministry of Ecology
Geology and Natural Resources of Kazakhstan in 2022
the air quality in Zhezkazgan is among the worst in the country
The Kara Kengir River that flows through Zhezkazgan is among the most contaminated water sources
The assessment ranks the river’s water quality as “above level 5,” which means the water is not suitable for any use
which has largely maintained the Soviet urban configuration
helps to explain the severe environmental problems
Residential areas in the city remain situated close to industrial sites
is located just across from a residential block
A huge tailings pond sits approximately 7 miles from Zhezkazgan’s city center and next to the river
Decades of intensive mining operations around Zhezkazgan have rendered the region particularly vulnerable to geomorphological risks
and pollution and depletion of surface and groundwater
quarries and metallurgical plants have stood next to Zhezkazgan residents’ homes for decades
and the accumulated health effects are striking
Zhezkazgan’s overall mortality and death rates from cancers and circulatory and respiratory diseases are much higher than the national average
the city’s overall mortality rate passed 3%
around 800 from circulatory system diseases and almost 400 from respiratory diseases were registered in Zhezkazgan per 100,000 people
Kazakhstan’s overall mortality rate in 2020 was lower than 1%
the country recorded on average fewer than 100 deaths attributed to cancers
200 related to circulatory system diseases and approximately 100 associated with respiratory diseases
I see how people get sick and leave silently,” said Zhezkazgan resident Zhurshibai Lekerov
they vote with their feet because they no longer believe that anything will change
industrial workers in Zhezkazgan also face the risk of injury or death from industrial accidents
Much like the miners who died in the Karaganda fire in October 2023
workers in Zhezkazgan are confronted with unfavorable working conditions and outdated infrastructure
such as dust and aerosols that result from mining
Just a few days after signing the memorandum on the new plant
a 39-year-old supervisor was crushed to death by falling rock while working in the East Zhezkazgan copper mine
a 43-year-old worker was pinched to death by a conveyor belt at a metal-processing plant in Zhezkazgan
Kazakhmys is notorious for its high number of industrial injuries
industrial injuries at Kazakhmys surged more than threefold from 2022 to 2023
remains undisclosed — perhaps a telling sign of Kazakhmys’ lack of transparency and accountability regarding workers’ safety
It also means material benefits: The average income of Zhezkazgan residents is significantly higher than the Ulytau regional and Kazakhstani national averages
including office workers and managers as well as those working in the mines
nearly double the national average in Kazakhstan
The city of Zhezkazgan is also reliant on the lucrative mining industry: Industrial production accounted for 86.4% of Zhezkazgan’s GDP in 2022
As the owner of almost all of Zhezkazgan’s industrial assets
Kazakhmys controls not only the local flows of raw materials and the labor force but also everyday necessities like electricity and hot water
Any new investors coming to Zhezkazgan will likely have to deal with Kazakhmys in one way or another
The lack of economic diversity combined with the company’s monopolistic control over Zhezkazgan’s copper industry and infrastructure reinforces the region’s role as a mineral supplier as well as the environmental and human toll associated with it
The industry feeds the people; the people serve the industry
And this binding relationship has endured for decades
It is uncertain whether SinoHydro’s project in Zhezkazgan will do anything to change this
The march of SinoHydro — a global leader in clean energy investments — into Zhezkazgan cannot be understood outside the context of the region’s rich mineral resources or China’s booming demand for copper
According to a 2023 report by the Global Energy Monitor
China holds more than one-third of the world’s total cumulative installed capacity for wind and solar energy
and copper is a vital component of both technologies
The centrality of copper in SinoHydro’s investment in Zhezkazgan also means that Chinese investors would need to rely on the local industrial infrastructure and potentially reinforce Kazakhmys’ dominance in the region
this is not SinoHydro’s first venture into Kazakhstan for copper
In 2022 the company successfully secured a substantial $995 million contract with Kazdelltom Mining Co
for copper mining operations in the country’s western Aktobe Region
The abundance of copper ores and established industrial infrastructure
make Zhezkazgan an attractive option for setting up manufacturing processes
SinoHydro’s entry into this monotown reflects China’s broader strategy to dominate green energy supplies
Although Zhezkazgan’s residents appear tied to the copper industry
they do not quietly submit to the status quo
more than 100 miners from Kazakhmys went on strike
putting forward a list of 15 demands for the company
opening up communication channels for workers
and enhancing paid time off and disability
Following negotiations between representatives of the Kazakhmys Corp
that part of the striking workers’ demands were satisfied
Kazakhmys alleged to the public that the strikers would not be punished — a significant point to make in a country that is not known to protect workers’ rights — and mining work continued
Others have demanded more fundamental change
a group of retired workers from Zhezkazgan’s mining industry signed a letter to Kazakhstan’s political leaders
asking the government to reevaluate the consequences of the privatization of Zhezkazgan’s copper industry by the Kazakhmys Corp
and resolve the existing environmental and social issues caused by the company
“We can no longer indifferently watch how one of the best and most profitable enterprises in the country continues to be plundered by a small group of people
at a time when basic social issues have not been resolved at the Corporation’s enterprises for years
such as the provision of housing and clean drinking water
This particular strike was just one in Kazakhstan’s longer history of workers’ protests
Tensions have centered on the continuation of precarious working conditions and low pay despite the mining industry’s immense profitability
The oil workers’ protest in Zhanaozen in western Kazakhstan in 2011 stands out for its violent repression and casts a long shadow over labor rights in the country
17 civilians were killed and more than 100 protesters and others were injured
mining regions in central Kazakhstan also frequently witnessed workers’ fights for rights and safety
about 700 miners from ArcelorMittal Temirtau went on strike
demanding improved working conditions and changes to the labor code in Kazakhstan
Although Kazakhstan is a member of the International Labour Organization and has laws to protect workers’ rights and allow trade unions
and Kazakh authorities have a reputation for restricting these activities and pressuring workers
While workers’ grievances have been building up for decades
the atmosphere of reform in post-Nazarbayev Kazakhstan may have inspired former and current Kazakhmys employees to publicly raise their concerns with the government
Since the mass civil unrest at the start of 2022
Tokayev has been attempting to break with the past
including with elites considered allies of Nazarbayev
triggered by a sudden and significant surge in gas prices that month after state subsidies were lifted
ended with violent government crackdowns and Tokayev’s promise to reform the country and address the socioeconomic inequality lingering from the Nazarbayev era
“The era of oligarchic capitalism is coming to an end in Kazakhstan
The era of the state’s social responsibility towards its citizens is coming,” Tokayev pledged in October 2022
“On the return of illegally acquired assets to the state,” which many in Kazakhstan believe
as the letter from Zhezkazgan’s workers suggests
will contribute to the restoration of the social justice that was largely lost during the Nazarbayev era
the government has been quick to act on this legislation
Following the tragedy in Karaganda in October 2023
Kazakh authorities announced the nationalization of ArcelorMittal Temirtau
which operates the country’s largest steel plants and several coal and ore mines
including the Kostenko mine in Karaganda where the fatal fire happened
Kazakhmys appears to have become a target for Tokayev’s reforms
Tokayev met with representatives from the Kazakhmys Corporation during his visit to Zhezkazgan
the company promised to allocate approximately $54.9 million in 2022 to improve infrastructure in Zhezkazgan and neighboring Satpayev as part of its commitment to corporate social responsibility
Tokayev pointed out that this might not be enough
It is unclear to what extent Kazakhmys followed through on their funding promises
Kazakhmys’ official website boasts of the company’s contribution to regional welfare
The company also proclaims commitments to the environment and occupational safety
But the bright photographs showcased on the Kazakhmys website contrast sharply with Zhezkazgan’s gray skies
barren landscape and frequent accidents in mines and plants
the prosecutor’s office for the Ulytau region inspected the Kazakhmys Corp
in charge of Zhezkazgan’s CHP plant and identified 600 violations of industrial standards in the Zhezkazgan and Balkhash thermal power plants
for which the company was fined approximately $57,900
the Anti-Corruption Service of the Ulytau Region revealed severe problems in Kazakhmys’ management of the Zhezkazgan CHP
including ineffective use of approximately $2.2 million
systematic theft of funds intended for maintaining networks
These inspections and punishments could be an indication of change under Tokayev
Kazakhmys was slapped with a paltry fine of less than $60,000
It’s hardly a decisive blow to the company or the oligarchic establishment
A few affluent individuals still firmly control the majority of Kazakhstan’s wealth despite Tokayev’s promise of redistributive justice
the richest 50 individuals in Kazakhstan held 17.5% of the country’s total wealth in 2023
despite a $400 million decrease in his fortune between 2022 and 2023
and Vlast.kz have noted that since Bloody January there has been little change in Kazakhstan’s political and economic landscapes
Tokayev’s reforms seem to focus more on cracking down on opposition figures and legitimizing his administration
rather than attending to the welfare of the public
announced a plan to transform Zhezkazgan into a new economic and tourist center by 2037
At the center of this plan lies not industrial development but the improvement of social welfare
such as the construction of public facilities and renovation of residences
Government efforts to diversify the economy and prioritize public welfare could create opportunities
And the plan to build wind turbine towers in Zhezkazgan offers little in the way of diversifying away from the region’s industrial base
Tokayev’s foreign policy seems clearer than his domestic strategy: This former diplomat is trying to open up Kazakhstan to the world and make the most of the country’s abundant natural resources to form productive economic and geopolitical relationships with the rest of the world
Zhezkazgan’s copper will not remain untouched
The energy transition is the new global zeitgeist
and Kazakhstan is positioning itself to take part in one way or another
It remains uncertain how this will play out on the ground in places like Zhezkazgan
If Kazakhstan’s role in the energy transition is limited to supplying minerals and manufacturing renewable energy equipment without improvements to occupational health
From imperial Russia to independent Kazakhstan in 2024
obsessed and trapped a myriad of people with varied beliefs and motivations
the region’s resource-driven history has been tenacious
Different power structures have all prioritized mining and extraction in Zhezkazgan over the environment and workers’ health and safety
the shadow of the Nazarbayev era continues to loom over Kazakhstan
and natural resources still provide a well-trodden path for a government in search of revenue
New investments in Zhezkazgan’s copper industry or changes in the ownership of assets are unlikely to address residents’ concerns over unsafe water and air
disruptions to winter heating and fatal working conditions
But the miners’ strikes and residents’ demands for better environmental and welfare protections in Zhezkazgan show that the people are not passive objects under Tokayev
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