In Kazakhstan, subsoil use rights for solid minerals (other than common minerals and uranium) are granted through licences. Most exploration applications are handled first come, first served, but the Subsoil Code sets out cases in which sites are allocated by auction. The competent authority is the Ministry of Industry and Construction; auctions run electronically on the e-qazyna.kz state property register portal, and applications go through the Unified Subsoil Use Platform (minerals.e-qazyna.kz).
17 June: electronic auction of 23 mining sites (unconfirmed)
The ministry announced an electronic auction of 23 subsoil sites (unconfirmed) for solid minerals mining, set for 11:00 Astana time on 17 June on e-qazyna.kz, with applications accepted from 17 April to 27 May and participation fully remote. The sites lie in nine regions and cover manganese and iron ores, lead, zinc, titanium-zirconium placers, barite, celestine and gem-grade malachite, as well as the Verkhne-Lobaksai tantalum-beryllium site and the Peschanka titanium placer in East Kazakhstan. The largest lot was the Kirovskoye iron ore deposit in Kostanay region, covering 408.202 square kilometres.
e-qazyna records list Tekeliyskoye, Kirovskoye, Peschanka, Verkhne-Lobaksai, Yesymzhal Yuzhny Kostarak, Shokpak and Sredny Ktai with the status "signature bonus paid", while Koksu and Tsentralny Suuk-Tobe, Atansor (Western section), Akzhal (Central section), Zapadnoye Tekeli and Tuzkol are listed as "did not take place".
12 August to 11 September: more than 138,000 blocks open for exploration (unconfirmed)
The ministry said it accepted solid minerals exploration applications through the Unified Subsoil Use Platform from 12 August to 11 September for areas covering more than 138,000 blocks (unconfirmed). The areas were opened under the State Subsoil Fund Management Programme approved by Order No. 283 of 4 June (unconfirmed). The ministry said rights to a given area would not always go to the first applicant: where two or more applications cover the same block or group of blocks, the subsoil use right is decided by auction.
Auctions for newly vacated blocks
Rules related to this news
According to e-qazyna, a closed auction for newly vacated blocks was held on 5 August for a two-block exploration site on map sheet M-43-59, with two participants. This procedure is set out in Article 189-1 of the Code.
Legal basis: the Code on Subsoil and Subsoil Use
The Code of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 125-VI of 27 December 2017 (adilet K1700000125) provides:
- Article 221-1: auctions are used for mining sites with reserves and/or resources on the state register that are free of subsoil operations; for exploration sites whose prospects were identified by state geological survey; and for areas of exploration or combined exploration-and-production contracts that were invalidated, not extended or terminated early. The areas are set in the State Subsoil Fund Management Programme, and an exploration site awarded at auction may not exceed 200 blocks.
- Article 221-2: an auction is held on the decision of a tender commission whose membership is approved by the competent authority, and the commission may add extra licence obligations. Bidders must have the professional and financial capacity to cover minimum exploration or mining spending in the licence's first year. The notice may be published no earlier than two months before the auction, the terms must set a starting signature bonus, and the highest signature bonus wins. Results may be appealed within ten working days. If the winner fails to pay the bonus, it and anyone controlling it are refused licences and barred from auctions for five years.
- Article 221-3: an auction is void if no applicant has registered by the auction date and is re-run no earlier than two months later; after two void auctions for a mining site, an auction for an exploration licence is held instead.
- Article 189-1: where applications for the same newly vacated block are filed within 15 working days of its listing on the unified subsoil use platform, priority is set by auction, held no later than 15 working days after the review period ends. Paying the signature bonus and posting security for remediation obligations are conditions for the licence. The article was added by Law No. 249-VIII of 30 December 2025.
- Article 187: the area in an exploration licence application may not exceed 200 blocks.
In the newsroom's view, companies planning to enter Kazakhstan's solid minerals sector should track the State Subsoil Fund Management Programme and e-qazyna notices, work out first-year minimum spending before bidding, and have remediation security ready.
Check the sources behind the policy, and let us connect you with the right people on the ground – ask tumah.kz for details
Sources:
- Ministry of Industry and Construction, 23 sites up for auction (unconfirmed) (via nedra.kz): https://new.nedra.kz/news/23-uchastka-nedr-vyhodyat-na-torgi
- Ministry of Industry and Construction, auction notice, 21 Apr 2026 (via nedra.kz): https://new.nedra.kz/news/minprom-kazahstana-vystavit-na-aukcion-uchastki-nedr-dlya-dobychi-tvyordyh-poleznyh-iskopaemyh
- e-qazyna, mining auction records: https://minerals-u.e-qazyna.kz/ru/u/reestr/auction/tpi/trades/mining
- e-qazyna, newly vacated block auction (M-43-59): https://sauda.e-qazyna.kz/ru/list/333098062655000000
- Ministry of Industry and Construction, exploration applications open (gov.kz): https://www.gov.kz/org/mps/press/news/details/1273531?lang=ru
- Inbusiness.kz, citing the ministry: https://www.inbusiness.kz/ru/last/ohota-za-nedrami-nachalas-v-kazahstane
- Code on Subsoil and Subsoil Use (adilet K1700000125): https://adilet.zan.kz/rus/docs/K1700000125