On January 14, Minister of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kanat Sharlapayev arrived in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to participate in the Future Minerals Forum.
The Future Minerals Forum (FMF) is one of the leading platforms for discussing the future of the mineral industry. The platform serves as a place to establish global industry connections, bringing together governments, international organizations, and stakeholders.
The Minister spoke at the annual Ministerial round table. The meeting was also attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kazakhstan to Saudi Arabia Madiyar Menilbekov.
During his speech, Kanat Sharlapayev noted that the country strives to make a significant contribution to the sustainability of the global supply chain of essential minerals.
"Thanks to our diversified base of mineral resources, reliable material infrastructure, skilled labor, and a gradually developing medium–sized business industry, our country is well positioned to play an important role in the global supply chain," he stressed.
Kazakhstan produces 17 of the most important minerals from the US list and 19 from the European Union list. As well as beryllium, titanium, tantalum, niobium, rhenium, antimony, bismuth, selenium, and tellurium in the form of primary metals and components.
The Minister spoke about the start of production of high purity manganese sulfate monohydrate, which is an essential component of lithium-ion battery cathodes.
"By 2026, we plan to produce graphite ore, which will be processed into spheronized graphite, an important component for lithium—ion batteries," added Kanat Sharlapayev.
It should be noted that the investment climate in the mining industry of Kazakhstan has undergone significant changes, while active work is underway to attract foreign investment and increase the competitiveness of the industry.
With the assistance of the Embassy of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Saudi Arabia, meetings of the Minister with the heads of a number of companies such as Ivanhoe Electric, BHP, Acwa Power, Brownstein and CityBank were organized. These meetings helped to strengthen bilateral cooperation and discuss promising projects in various fields.
Kanat Sharlapaev met with Taylor Melvin, CEO of Ivanhoe Electric. Ivanhoe Electric is an American company that combines advanced mineral exploration technologies with metal electrical exploration projects. Through the development of a portfolio of electric metals exploration projects, it supports the independence of the United States supply chain by sourcing and supplying critical metals needed to electrify the economy.
The Minister held a meeting with the Deputy Chairman of Acwa Power, Raad Al-Saadi. The company develops and invests in projects of power plants and plants for the production of desalinated water in 13 countries of the Middle East, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia.
Kanat Sharlapayev met with BHP Commercial Director Ragnar Udd and Global Vice President of Corporate Affairs Nick Park. BHP is the largest mining company in the world. Mining of copper, iron ore and coal are among the main areas. The main mining assets are located in Australia and Chile.
The Minister then held a meeting with William Hasband, Managing Director and Head of Global Metals and Mining at Citibank. It is one of the largest international banks. It is part of the financial services corporation Citigroup.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mps/press/news/details/917825