The deposit is located in the Kostanay region in northern Kazakhstan.
The ores are represented by a loose clay-sand mass, lying in a layer at a depth of up to 40m. The ore is not radioactive.
Reserves and resources
Category C2 - 25 150 tons
Category P1 - 123 300 tons
Depth of occurrence
Allows for open-pit mining in a manner without significant initial stripping
Average content
The composition of REE is favorable
Total area
The area of the geological allotment
Rare eartg metals are found in clay (kaolinite, halloysite, goethite) in ion-sorbed form and form their own minerals: churchite, neodymiumchurchite, yttrium rhabdophanite, neodymiumbastnaesite.
Main ore mineral - churchite (yttrium hydrogen phosphate).
The are has a well-developed road network.
High-voltage power lines pass through the territory of the deposit.
The neares railway station is 50 km away (Zhetykara). Surface and ground water sources are located in the immediate vicinity.
Composition of the Kundybay deposit can be considered unique, as it is dominated by valuable heavy rare earth elements.
Most other deposits in the world contain the more common and less valuable LREEs - the average ratio is LREE:TREE = 18:1
The State Comission for the Assessment of Mineral Resources category C2 is comparable to the Indicated resource category according to JORC 2012.
In addition to the above C2 mineral resource estimate, the State Reserves Commission (Minutes of Technical Meeting No. 1192-12-A dated 22.05.2012) also recognized the following mineral resource/exploration targets for the Kundybay deposit:
ΣTR203 - 123,305 t
By-product Ilmenite (titanium mineral) - 151,192 t
ΣTR203 - 130,185 t