Ulba Metallurgical Plant JSC (UMP) in Ust-Kamenogorsk is a Kazatomprom subsidiary that makes uranium, beryllium, tantalum and niobium products. The company says its tantalum operation is the only one in the CIS and one of the world's largest with a full production cycle, from processing tantalum- and niobium-bearing raw materials to finished products.
Feedstock base
Writing in metals-expert.com, the outlet's author says Kazatomprom representatives at the 5th International Mining and Metallurgical Summit described work to expand Ulba's rare-metal feedstock base. Qazba.kz also reports that the plant is diversifying its sources of raw material through domestic exploration and mining as well as imports (unconfirmed).
According to the exploration plan and public hearing notice cited by Qazba.kz, Ulba plans to explore for beryllium, tantalum and niobium at the Vostochny-1 site in the Shet district of Karaganda region, across two blocks covering 4.5 square kilometres, under exploration licence No. 3268-EL issued on 3 May 2025 (unconfirmed). The plan runs for three years, 2027 to 2029, with fieldwork in 2027–2028, including 10 exploration holes totalling 1,500 metres of drilling and 50 km of traverses; hearings are scheduled for the end of October (unconfirmed). The site was first prospected in the 1950s and 1960s, and earlier work recorded a maximum beryllium oxide grade of 0.251% in hole No. 2 (unconfirmed).
Qazba.kz also says Ulba's stockpiles of beryllium, tantalum and niobium raw materials have been shrinking in recent years (unconfirmed). Some 19 km south-west of the site lies the Nurataldy deposit, where state miner Tau-Ken Samruk previously said it planned to start mining beryllium ore from 2028 (unconfirmed).
Responsible tantalum supply chain
Ulba's tantalum smelter (CID001969) is on the Responsible Minerals Initiative's list of RMAP-conformant tantalum smelters, and Colgate-Palmolive's 2025 conflict minerals report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission also lists it as Conformant. The company's due diligence report for 1 April 2025 to 30 April 2026 says its latest RMAP assessment took place from 30 June to 2 July 2025 (unconfirmed).
Rules related to this news
- What is Kazatomprom and who owns itJSC NAC Kazatomprom is Kazakhstan's national atomic company; its website describes it as the national operator for imp…Text and legal basis →
- Exploration licence Kazakhstan first come first servedUnder the Subsoil Code an exploration licence is issued in order of application: 6 years, one extension of up to 5 yea…Text and legal basis →
The same report says an Ulba assessment team carried out on-the-ground assessments at Solikamsk Magnesium Works and Lovozersky Mining and Concentrating Plant in Russia from 6 to 10 April 2026, with the findings classed as low risk. No on-the-ground assessments of mine or transport sites in conflict-affected and high-risk areas were carried out in the period because no primary tantalum raw material was purchased (unconfirmed).
Tantalum-beryllium site auctioned in East Kazakhstan
Records on the e-qazyna state property register show that the Verkhne-Lobaksai tantalum-beryllium mining site in East Kazakhstan was sold at the Ministry of Industry and Construction's electronic auction on 17 June, with the status "signature bonus paid" (unconfirmed). The ministry had announced 23 mining sites for this round (unconfirmed).
In the newsroom's view, companies working in rare metals should keep an eye on the expansion of Ulba's rare-metal raw material base and on new rare-metal sites coming to auction, which may open room for cooperation in raw material supply, processing and exploration services.
Check the sources behind the policy, and let us connect you with the right people on the ground – ask tumah.kz for details
Sources:
- Ulba, Tantalum production: https://ulba.kz/ru/tantalovoe-proizvodstvo
- Ulba, Due diligence report, 1 Apr 2025 – 30 Apr 2026: https://www.ulba.kz/files/CHlA3vN4Vzi4KR4dhPZJ3tMh9M1HxYqSBdQORfwo.pdf
- Colgate-Palmolive, Conflict Minerals Report 2025 (SEC filing): https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/21665/000002166526000028/a2025conflictmineralsreport.htm
- Qazba.kz, on Vostochny-1 exploration: https://qazba.kz/razvedka/dochka-kazatomproma-pristupit-k-razvedke-v-redkih-metallov-v-karagandinskoj-oblasti/
- metals-expert.com, 28 Sep 2026: https://metals-expert.com/news/business/2842.html
- e-qazyna, mining auction records (17 June 2026): https://minerals-u.e-qazyna.kz/ru/u/reestr/auction/tpi/trades/mining
- Ministry of Industry and Construction, 23-site auction notice (via nedra.kz): https://new.nedra.kz/news/23-uchastka-nedr-vyhodyat-na-torgi