Assessing economic sustainability of mining in Kazakhstan

Zauresh Atakhanova () and Seribolat Azhibay ()
Additional contact information
Zauresh Atakhanova: Nazarbayev University
Seribolat Azhibay: Nazarbayev University

Mineral Economics, 2023, vol. 36, issue 4, No 10, 719-731

Abstract: Abstract Kazakhstan is a leading producer of uranium and chromium and has significant reserves of critical raw materials. We assess economic sustainability of Kazakhstan’s mining, focusing on its labor productivity, a key factor in counteracting the effects of resource depletion and increasing costs. We find that during 2000–2021, labor productivity continued improving in mining of non-ferrous metals and industrial minerals. Our firm-level analysis demonstrates that domestic non-ferrous mining firms were able to achieve productivity level comparable to that of modern mining industries. They reduced energy intensity, increased efficiency of processing plants, and accessed higher-quality reserves. In addition, managerial innovations, engaging with the workforce, and introduction of advanced technologies were prominent in analyzed firms. However, following a period of rapid growth during the early 2000s, productivity stagnated in Kazakhstan’s coal mining while it decreased in iron ore mining. We relate such performance to iron ore depletion from underinvestment in exploration. In coal mining, stagnating productivity reflects this sector’s protected status and substantial fossil fuel subsidies.

Keywords: Energy intensity; Depletion; Copper mining; Panel data analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D24 E24 L72 Q32 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s13563-023-00387-x Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:minecn:v:36:y:2023:i:4:d:10.1007_s13563-023-00387-x

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/economics/journal/13563

DOI: 10.1007/s13563-023-00387-x

Access Statistics for this article

Mineral Economics is currently edited by Magnus Ericsson and Patrik Söderholm

More articles in Mineral Economics from Springer, Raw Materials Group (RMG), Luleå University of Technology
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().