Kazakh copper, Aktogay & Zhezkazgan

Kazakhstan produces about 600,000 tonnes of copper per year, nearly 4% of global mine supply, via KAZ Minerals (the giant Aktogay mine) and Kazakhmys (Zhezkazgan). Landlocked between Russia and China, the country sells a growing share of its metal to neighbouring Chinese smelters: extraction is Kazakh, but the downstream, the value and the outlet lean toward Beijing. A strategic copper whose logistics depend on land corridors controlled by its two large neighbours.