From June 19 till June 22, the 25th anniversary World Mining Congress will be held in Astana, Kazakhstan. The organisers point to the importance of the country in global commodity terms. In 2017 past year, the Kazakh mining industry grew by 9.3%, and the mineral processing industry by 5.1%. The volume of extraction of non-ferrous metal ores increased by 8.2%, the volume of extraction of iron ore increased by 6.9%. In ferrous metallurgy production volumes grew by 6.6%, whereas in non-ferrous metallurgy growth in production was up 5.5%.
The introduction of a new Mining Code “On subsurface and subsurface use”, signed on December 27, 2017, corresponds to world best practices and seeks the improvement of legislation in the light of introduction of international system of reporting standards to greatly simplify the procedure for concluding subsurface use contracts, ensure the stability of subsurface mining conditions and contribute to the investment attractiveness of industry in the country.
The World Mining Congress in Kazakhstan will be held under the slogan “Innovative superiority is a step forward on the way to the growth of the world mining industry.” Within the framework of the Congress, a number of thematic sessions will be held, dedicated to innovative solutions in the mining industry, and aimed and bringing together key industry stakeholders. Marek Calka, Chairman of World Mining Congress, Dean of the Faculty of Geomechanics of Polish University of Science and Technology (AGH), author of more than 55 scientific papers, will make an opening speech. Marek Calka is a member of International Society of Rock Mechanics (ISRM), as well as International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnics (ISSMGE).
World experts in the mining industry will also take part in a plenary session entitled “Technological innovations and best practices in the mining industry – the future is today”. Current keynote speakers include the following:
- Kairat Kelimbetov, Governor, Astana International Financial Center
- Guocheng Pan, President and CEO, China Hanking Holdings Ltd
- Ryan Cochrane, Research Manager – Lead, Zinc & Precious metals, CRU Group
- Yerlan Ramazanov, Associate Director – Energy Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia, EBRD
- Lex McArthur, Director, Jolimont Global Mining Systems
- Michael Barton, Portfolio Manager, Orion Mine Finance
- Ronald-Peter Stöferle, Managing Partner and Fund Manager, Incrementum AG
- Stefan Scholz, Managing Partner, ScholzvonGleich LLP
- David Butler, Partner, Tamesis Partners
Maxim Baranov, PwC Russia Director, together with leading representatives of leading companies of mining and metallurgical complexes, will disclose key aspects in the field of application of modern approaches to the MMC. Discussion sections will touch upon the issues related to formation of demand for products, interaction of mining companies with technology companies, impact of innovations on the development of MMC and country’s economy. More than 132 associations and international organisations from 37 countries have already confirmed their participation in WMC.
Sponsors of World Mining Congress are: Diamond Partner – LLP “Eurasian Group”, Gold Partners – LLP “Kazzinc Holdings”, KAZ Minerals Group, Polymetal International PLC, Silver Partner – LLP “Kazakhmys Corporation”, and Bronze Partners – LLP “Leica Geosystems Kazakhstan”, design and construction group of LLP “AAEngineering Group” and group of companies “KAI”.
