In June 2026, Liuba Lukina, project manager from SOLVOMET and SIM² KU Leuven participated in the Astana Mining & Metallurgy Congress (AMM 2026) and the Critical Raw Materials field trip organised by EIT RawMaterials and the European Commission.
This mission aimed to strengthen cooperation between European and Kazakh stakeholders in the critical raw materials sector. During the week, Liuba attended the AMM congress, joined B2B meetings and visited industrial sites across Kazakhstan.
For SOLVOMET and SIM² KU Leuven, the trip was an opportunity to better understand the Kazakh raw materials sector and identify areas where Belgian research organisations can contribute.
During the congress, meetings were held with representatives of companies including KazZinc, Kazakhmys, KAZ Minerals, Qarmet, ERG and Kazatomprom's Ulba Metallurgical Plant. Discussions focused on processing technologies, critical raw materials projects and opportunities for future collaboration.
The major conclusion is that there is genuine interest in cooperation between Kazakhstan and Europe. Kazakhstan has significant reserves of critical raw materials, ambitious industrial projects and a strong interest in attracting international expertise. At the same time, European companies and research organisations can contribute know-how, technology development and applied research.
The mission also highlighted that support structures for EU-KZ collaboration already exist. European companies interested in Kazakhstan can rely on organisations such as EIT RawMaterials, the European Investment Bank, trade representations and local business networks. Several promising projects were presented during the congress, including developments in vanadium, nickel and graphite value chains.
For KU Leuven on the whole, the visit provided valuable insights into how research collaborations can be established in the region. Universities such as Nazarbayev University, Satbayev University, KBTU and East Kazakhstan Technical University could become important partners for future projects, training activities and student exchanges.
Overall, the Kazakhstan mission showed that there is significant potential for stronger cooperation between Kazakhstan and Europe in critical raw materials. For SOLVOMET and SIM² KU Leuven, it was a valuable opportunity to better understand the needs of the sector, expand the network of contacts and explore future research and innovation projects.
