The oil and gas company Caspian Sunrise has entered into a deal to purchase Kazakh mining assets. The acquisition price is estimated at $25–45 million. Thus, the company seeks to reduce dependence on the oil and gas sector and get additional profit through mineral extraction.
The subject of the transaction was the 100% acquisition of Kazikhan Limited. This asset, in turn, owns two licenses. The first is a subsidiary of GRK Borly LLP, which has the right to extract manganese with proven reserves of 8 million tons. The second is from Zhambas PV, which has a license for exploration of gold and copper with gold reserves of about 700 kilograms. In addition, the portfolio also includes silver and molybdenum prospects.
According to the top management of Caspian Sunrise, mining projects require lower initial investments compared to oil ones. In addition, they are less sensitive to price fluctuations and regulatory restrictions. This is especially true in conditions of instability in commodity markets.
Interestingly, Kazikhan is owned by individuals who are part of the Oraziman Family Concert Party structure. These same owners collectively own a controlling stake (50.52%) of the shares of Caspian Sunrise itself. Thus, the transaction is in the nature of consolidation of assets within one group.
Caspian Sunrise leads exploration and production oil, provides field maintenance services. This is not the first attempt at diversification: in December last year, the company already announced the purchase of an asset with rare earths 110 kilometers from Ekibastuz.
For a British company, entering the mining sector is becoming a strategic direction to balance risks and increase profitability. Kazakhstan, with its wealth of SMEs, remains an attractive jurisdiction for such investments.
Source: AK&M
