Industrial waste management at Bozshakol

While most of the waste material produced by the Group is either rock or tailings material, KAZ Minerals has been working to embed a deep culture of environmental management throughout all of its activities.

The Bozshakol team has been working to optimise its industrial waste management since it started production. A comprehensive waste management programme has been developed on site which includes understanding all items of waste produced, seeking waste minimisation opportunities, appropriate categorisation, labelling and storage of waste materials, recycling or reusing all waste items where possible, and ultimately using waste passports to ensure that the items which must be sent to landfill are done so responsibly.

Since 2017, Bozshakol has achieved a notable improvement in the proportion of its waste which is recycled, increasing from 33% to 53%. In 2021, this represented nearly 6,600 tonnes of waste which was recycled.

Bozshakol has successfully found a market for many of its waste products, including plastic, scrap metal, paper, cardboard and grinding balls. Not only does this reduce the volume of materials going to landfill, but it also helps to support small and medium-sized businesses in the region, as well as the local people they employ. Additionally, the Group is able to avoid the greenhouse gas emissions which have been generated by disposing of the waste in landfill.