Technical modernisation for reducing emissions in mining in Kazakhstan

Aida Alzhanova – Strategic Development and Project Management Director, Polymetal Eurasia, gave a brief overview of decarbonisation methods Kazakhstan uses as a country and what Polymetal Eurasia is implementing.

Kazakhstan has always been an industrial country contributing 32% to the national GDP. One-third of industrial output comes from mining and metals production. Due to the increasing rates of raw materials production, environmental safety has become an urgent issue concerning the people of Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is the 61st out of 63 countries participating in the Climate Change Performance index lagging behind industrial giants like India, China, and Russia.

Kazakhstan is taking a number of steps to improve the current ecological situation, one of the positive examples of which is the new environmental code that was adopted last year. It requires large enterprises, starting from 2025, to introduce the best available techniques to reduce pollutant emissions.

Kazakhstan Government recently announced the draft of the national strategy for achieving carbon neutrality by 2060, which is currently under public discussion. The strategy has exceptionally ambitious targets that would exceed Kazakhstan’s commitments under the Paris Agreement.
This strategy aims to reduce emissions by 40% by 2030.

Polymetal Eurasia is also taking steps to reduce emissions from its operations in Kazakhstan. The overall strategy is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 30% by 2030 compared to 2019. One of the major indirect sources is electricity – which is produced by burning coal. Polymetal is planning to tackle it by switching to renewable energy – particularly solar energy.

In her presentation, Aida went into great detail on how Polymetal is working on tackling gas emissions.