Innovation

The Innovation Center was established in 2018 to conduct R&D and innovation work at the Company.

The Center carries out research, the optimization of existing processes and equipment, and the roll out of advanced technologies to improve the efficiency and sustainability of operations.

1,048 rationalisation proposals implemented in production in 2018-2023.

The Central Research Laboratory (CRL) has been in operation for about 60 years and is a scientific institution with extensive experience in the mining and metallurgical industry. The Central Research Laboratory unites technological, geotechnological, geological, environmental protection and radiation and dosimetric control laboratories.

The Central Design Bureau designs structures, technological and non-standard equipment, and mining and production works. New parts and processing equipment are manufactured based on design documentation developed by the Bureau and they are widely used across the Company, creating a direct economic benefit.

The Central Project Bureau develops, designs, and provides engineering support for capital projects. It also introduces modern technologies and innovative approaches to project design, manages project implementation, and provides technical support to operations teams to optimize the performance of the Company’s facilities.

The Central Physics and Chemistry Lab, located at North Ore Division, conducts comprehensive chemical analyses of ore samples to determine their composition, including determining ore content of valuable minerals and metals. It ensures product quality control and process optimization, and supports research and development to improve ore processing methods.

The Central Factory Laboratories at Hydrometallurgical Plants No. 2 and 3 conduct research to develop new and improved technologies for processing refractory gold ore with the aim of improving recovery and reducing reagent consumption.

Gamma-activation analysis is performed at the Muruntau mine in the Central Laboratory (CLGAA) using the latest equipment, which is unique and has no analogue. The principle of the gamma-activation method is to activate the sample material with gamma radiation and measure the induced radioactivity. The resulting characteristic radiation, which depends on the presence of gold in the ore, is used to determine the gold content.

The key difference of this method of analysis is that it is a high-speed, large-scale analysis and the sample material remains unchanged during the analysis process. In recent years, the capacity of the Central Laboratory of Gamma Activation Analysis has increased 3.5 times from 620,000 to 2 million analyses per year.

> 30 million samples have been analysed since 1977.

The high throughput is due to the fast analysis cycle — only 18 seconds per sample.

No other existing industrial physics laboratory in the world is capable of analysing such volumes, which is why the CLGAA maintains its status as a unique laboratory to this day.