Industry professionals know that investment in the infrastructure of communities adjacent to production sites always has a multiplier effect. Residents of the village of Auezov in the Zharma District were pleased when the Bakyrchik mining enterprise (BME) resumed operations and began creating new jobs, built a new boiler house, upgraded the water main, power grids, and heat supply system. Since then, the road from the village to the Ust-Kamenogorsk–Kalbatau highway has been kept in good condition in both summer and winter.
Recall that the Bakyrchik deposit in the Zharma District of Abai region is known for its gold reserves, but the presence of arsenic and carbon in the ore created serious difficulties in gold recovery. Geologists identified large reserves here back in the 1950s, and the mine operated reliably until the perestroika period. In the 1990s, everything fell into decline, and attempts by foreign investors to establish production were unsuccessful.
Large-scale gold mining at Bakyrchik resumed after 2014, when the deposit was acquired by Solidcore Resources, which solved the challenge of overcoming the double refractoriness of Bakyrchik ores.
From 2014 to 2018, a production complex was built in the Zharma District of Abai region, including an open pit, a flotation beneficiation plant, and supporting infrastructure. Open-pit mining at the deposit began in 2016, and underground mining is planned to start in 2028. In 2018, the beneficiation plant was commissioned, producing two types of ore concentrate.
Bakyrchik’s low-carbon concentrate is shipped for autoclave processing to the Amur Hydrometallurgical Plant, where the gold is converted into doré alloy—a solution with 95–96% recovery—which is then sent back to Kazakhstan for refining. The high-carbon concentrate is shipped for processing to Kazakhmys Corporation LLP.
Solidcore Resources is building a new hydrometallurgical plant in Pavlodar Region—the first Central Asian facility for processing refractory concentrates—where Bakyrchik concentrate will be delivered starting in 2028.
The mining industry is a complex, technology-intensive field. Solidcore Resources employs professionals who ensure efficient and safe gold production. At the Bakyrchik mining enterprise, all technological processes are maximally automated and digitized, and an autonomous LTE communications network is in operation.
The company’s in-house IT development—the automated dispatching system 'POLINA'—allocates mining haulage equipment during operations. Based on engineering analysis of onboard instrumentation data, the automated dispatching system 'POLINA' directs haul trucks to excavators using the most efficient algorithm. The system also generates reports on volumes of material hauled, shift-plan performance, hourly and daily charts, and other production functions.
In modern production with a high level of automation and digitization, well-trained personnel—engineering and technical staff and skilled workers—are in demand.
“In cooperation with the Zharma Technological College, we train excavator operators and haul-truck drivers. To do so, we supplied the college with a set of training simulators for mining equipment costing 161 million tenge and renovated a classroom for instruction,” says Kenbeiil Issayev, CEO of the Bakyrchik mining enterprise. In October 2025, he was awarded the Order of Barys, First Class, for his significant contribution to the country’s socioeconomic development and active community engagement.
As Kenbeiil Ordabaevich notes, BME’s contribution to the region’s public well-being is substantial. Significant funds are directed to the social sector, the development of education and healthcare, and improvements to the infrastructure of the Zharma District of Abai region and the region overall.
Each year, the enterprise signs social and economic partnership agreements with the akimat (regional administration) of Abai region totaling 2.5 billion tenge per year and with the akimat (regional administration) of the Zharma District totaling 150 million tenge per year. Since the reestablishment of Abai region in 2022, under these agreements BME has invested more than 7 billion tenge to implement socially significant projects in the region.
The social and economic cooperation agreements provide for investments in the following areas.
Education, youth sports. Educational grants from the enterprise for graduates of the Zharma District to study at universities and colleges. Renovation and outfitting of a kindergarten and educational institutions (in particular, a school bus and LED screens were purchased for schools in the village of Auezov and the village of Shalabay). Trips to sports competitions, academic olympiads, and festivals; recreation for children from large and low-income families at health camps; and more. Sponsorship support for the Zharma District youth hockey team “Batyr” (travel to competitions, uniforms, training).
Culture. Organization of cultural and community events for residents (New Year, Nauryz, Victory Day, Children’s Day, Metallurgist’s Day, Older Persons Day, and much more). Outfitting the House of Culture (stage attire, LED screen), subscriptions to the district newspaper for retirees, leisure activities for veterans.
Healthcare. Charitable assistance for children’s medical treatment. Support for the territorial center providing social services for people with disabilities in the village of Auezov. Improvements to outpatient clinics in the village of Shalabay, the village of Auezov, and the district hospital in the city of Shar (transfer of medical equipment).
Infrastructure. Road maintenance (snow removal, resurfacing with fill material, grading), removal of household waste from the village of Auezov, and technical assistance for village needs, including flood-prevention measures. Maintenance of parks, squares, and children’s and sports playgrounds in the village of Shalabay and the village of Auezov.
In addition to the social partnership agreements, over three years more than 1.7 billion tenge has been allocated to socially important initiatives such as stocking the Irtysh River with Siberian sturgeon and biological cleaning of the reservoir that supplies water to the village of Auezov.
“Stocking the Irtysh with Siberian sturgeon is a very important step toward improving the environment, and we are grateful to the Bakyrchik mining enterprise for this good deed,” notes Bauyrzhan Imankulov, head of the Agricultural Entrepreneurship Department of the akimat (regional administration) of the Zhanasemey District.
In 2021–2022, the 50-year-old dam of the Kyzyl-Sui Reservoir, intended for the water supply of the village of Auezov, was reconstructed. Restoration of the hydraulic structure lasted a year and a half. During this time, builders reinforced the dam’s foundation and slopes and the concrete channels of the spillways. Strengthening the dam ensured flood safety for populated areas located downstream along the Kyzyl Su River.
In addition, the enterprise assumes responsibility for sustaining the village of Auezov: maintaining the boiler house, water supply and sewer systems, and the Auezov–Bursak and Auezov–Shalabay roads. These expenses exceed 1.5 billion tenge per year.
With BME’s assistance in Auezov, the fire station, police post, and the akimat (regional administration) building have been renovated. In 2023, 80 million tenge was spent on water supply and centralized heat supply for certain streets in the village of Auezov. The company also continuously improves housing and living conditions for elderly people living alone and those in acute need of help by renovating private apartments and homes.
With BME’s financial participation and together with the “Kazakhstan Khalkyna” public foundation, an hangar- type gym (opened in December 2024), two children’s playgrounds, and roof repairs for four five-story apartment buildings were completed in the village of Auezov.
It is worth noting that in 2023 the Bakyrchik mining enterprise received the Grand Prix of the national “Paryz” award as the best social enterprise among large businesses
