Deposits of gold, coal, iron and copper were returned to state ownership in Kazakhstan. They will be put up for auction and transferred to strategic investors. Issues related to the review of solid mineral deposits and hydrocarbon raw materials were discussed at the Government’s meeting. It bears noting that the Kazakh government is currently working on the revision of agreements and licenses issued to subsoil users. Last year, the authorized bodies conducted an analysis and subsequently canceled 115 contracts and 198 licenses for solid minerals, as well as 12 hydrocarbon contracts. At the same time, following the last year's auction results, a signature bonus worth 26 billion tenge was paid into the state budget. In addition, investments in hydrocarbon exploration worth over 50 billion tenge have been announced.
