Central Asia’s mining sector combines major uranium, gold and copper assets with relatively limited access to liquid public equities. Kazakhstan currently provides the region’s most developed listed mining exposure, while Uzbekistan has large state-controlled producers that could reshape its capital markets through future privatizations. Mongolia offers a smaller, higher-risk market centred on individual mine developments and project milestones.
Kazakhstan has two established capital-market platforms and publicly traded exposure to uranium and gold. Uzbekistan’s largest mining companies remain largely state-owned and unlisted, despite their scale. Mongolia, meanwhile, provides more direct exposure to mining projects, although some of its most accessible securities are dual-listed or provide exposure through overseas parent companies.
Kazakhstan Provides Established Exchange Infrastructure
Kazakhstan’s public-market system is the most developed among the three markets.
At the end of June 2026, the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE) had 88 share issues from 75 issuers listed for trading. Equity-market capitalization reached 47.6 trillion tenge, equivalent to about $97.9 billion. Foreign investors represented 27% of gross secondary-market share turnover during June.
Trading activity was considerably smaller than the headline capitalization. June share turnover totalled 24.8 billion tenge, demonstrating the gap between quoted market value and the liquidity available for sizeable positions in some listed companies. The Astana International Exchange (AIX) provides a second channel, with a stronger international orientation. At the end of the first half of 2026, AIX had 398 securities from 196 issuers on its official list. Turnover during the first six months reached $1.1 billion, compared with $700 million during the corresponding period of 2025.
AIX had 69 trading members from Kazakhstan, China, Europe and the Middle East, while 10 global custodians maintained sub-accounts with its central securities depository. Although debt securities account for a substantial share of the exchange’s expansion, its infrastructure also supports international access to listed equities.
The two exchanges give Kazakhstan an advantage over neighbouring markets. Investors can use the domestic KASE platform while AIX provides access to securities and instruments designed with international capital markets in mind. The listed mining universe nevertheless remains narrow relative to Kazakhstan’s mineral base. Kazatomprom dominates uranium exposure, while Solidcore Resources provides the principal listed gold exposure.
Kazatomprom Remains the Key Uranium Equity
Kazatomprom is the region’s largest listed commodity company and the principal public-market route into Kazakhstan’s uranium industry. Its shares trade in Kazakhstan on KASE and AIX, while depositary receipts have historically provided an additional route for international investors. The company expects 2026 attributable uranium production of 14,500–15,500 tonnes, equivalent to approximately 37.7 million–40.3 million pounds of uranium oxide.
Production remains dependent on the availability of sulphuric acid, a critical input for Kazakhstan’s in-situ uranium recovery operations. Kazatomprom’s performance is therefore affected not only by uranium prices but also by production discipline and the availability of key inputs. Other factors affecting the company include the relationship between spot and long-term uranium contract prices, taxation, government policy, currency movements and dividend distributions.
Kazakhstan’s nuclear programme also reinforces the strategic position of uranium. In May 2026, the country signed an agreement worth approximately $16.5 billion with Russia for construction of its first nuclear power plant. A second plant is planned with Chinese participation. The nuclear projects strengthen the strategic importance of uranium and the nuclear fuel chain within Kazakhstan, although the planned domestic reactors will not immediately generate demand on a scale comparable with Kazatomprom’s existing international sales.
The state remains an important shareholder, regulator and tax authority. This gives Kazatomprom strategic importance within Kazakhstan while also creating a distinction between national industrial priorities and the interests of minority shareholders.
Solidcore Expands Listed Gold Exposure
Solidcore Resources is Kazakhstan’s main listed gold producer. The company produced 125,000 ounces of gold equivalent in the first quarter of 2026, an 84% increase from the same period of 2025. Sales amounted to 123,000 ounces, while quarterly revenue reached $595 million as accumulated concentrate was processed through third-party facilities and gold prices remained supportive.
Solidcore is targeting approximately 540,000 gold-equivalent ounces of production in 2026, compared with 395,000 ounces in 2025. The expected increase is partly linked to the reversal of processing and inventory disruptions that affected the preceding year. Listed on AIX, Solidcore operates two producing mining complexes in Kazakhstan. Its longer-term development strategy includes the Ertis pressure-oxidation plant, which is intended to enable more refractory concentrate to be processed domestically rather than relying extensively on third-party processing facilities.
The project could increase processing control and reduce reliance on external facilities, while also requiring financing, construction and commissioning.
Solidcore therefore carries a different set of operating exposures from Kazatomprom, with mine grades, processing availability, capital expenditure and project execution playing a more direct role in company performance. Kazakhstan also has listed companies linked to copper, zinc, titanium, ferroalloys and gold. Actual investment accessibility, however, depends on free float and trading turnover rather than exchange admission alone.
The result is a mining market that is established but concentrated. Kazakhstan’s broad mineral diversity is not reflected in an equally broad universe of highly liquid listed mining equities.
Uzbekistan’s Mining Scale Outpaces Its Listed Market
Uzbekistan presents a different capital-market structure. Its largest mining enterprises operate on a globally significant scale, but direct access through listed equities remains limited. The leading potential listing candidate is Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company (NMMC). The company produced approximately 1.51 million ounces of gold in the first half of 2026, with total output valued at around $7.1 billion. NMMC identifies itself as one of the world’s four largest gold producers and operates the Muruntau mining complex.
A public offering of NMMC would provide direct equity exposure to one of the world’s largest gold producers and could materially increase the size and visibility of Uzbekistan’s stock market. Plans for the flotation were paused in May 2026 as the Uzbek government reconsidered the timing. The proposed transaction had been expected to involve listings in London and Tashkent, but no revised timetable has been confirmed.
The flotation decision carries implications beyond market access. NMMC contributes state revenue, export earnings and dividends, meaning a partial sale would have to be considered alongside government ownership and future cash distributions. The experience of the National Investment Fund of Uzbekistan (UzNIF) demonstrated international investor demand for Uzbek state-backed assets. Its London offering raised more than $690 million and attracted more than $2.8 billion in institutional orders.
UzNIF is not a dedicated mining company, but its transaction demonstrated that an adequately prepared Uzbek state-backed issuer can attract substantial international institutional capital.
Almalyk and Navoiyuran Add to Uzbekistan’s Pipeline
Other mining enterprises have also been identified for potential privatization. The Almalyk Mining and Metallurgical Complex, a major copper and metals producer, has been identified as a candidate for a minority offering. A presidential privatization programme has contemplated selling approximately 10%–15% of the company.
Uranium producer Navoiyuran has also appeared among prospective public-market issuers. The emergence of NMMC, Almalyk and Navoiyuran as potential issuers could significantly broaden Uzbekistan’s listed mining exposure. Until such transactions are completed, however, investors remain dependent on government decisions concerning privatization, ownership structures and listing schedules. Uzbekistan consequently has mining companies of sufficient scale to attract global sector investors, but its equity market has yet to provide the same immediate selection of listed mining securities available in Kazakhstan.
Mongolia Combines Mining Exposure With Frontier-Market Risk
Mongolia provides a third model, combining a smaller stock exchange with an economy heavily dependent on mining and a public market where individual project milestones can have a major influence on company valuations. The Mongolian Stock Exchange recorded 906.3 billion tugrik of securities turnover in 2025, while market capitalization reached 13.85 trillion tugrik. Mongolia has been classified by FTSE Russell as a frontier market since 2023.
Mining has a central role in the country’s investment market, although some of its largest mineral assets are not represented through straightforward Mongolian pure-play equities.
Oyu Tolgoi, Mongolia’s flagship copper-gold operation, is owned 66% by Rio Tinto and 34% by the Mongolian government. Production growth remains on schedule, with Rio Tinto reporting a 31% year-on-year increase in Oyu Tolgoi output during the first half of 2026. The operation is expected to average approximately 500,000 tonnes of copper annually from 2028 through 2036.
For public investors, the principal listed exposure to Oyu Tolgoi is therefore through Rio Tinto, rather than a large Mongolian pure-play listed company. That structure offers international market liquidity and governance standards, but Oyu Tolgoi represents only one asset within a much larger global mining group. The agreement between Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government to reduce the interest rate on Oyu Tolgoi shareholder loans also demonstrates the importance of financing arrangements and state-investor negotiations to project economics.
Erdene Provides Direct Development Exposure
Erdene Resource Development offers a more concentrated Mongolia-focused mining investment route, with shares trading in Toronto and Mongolia, as well as over the counter in the United States. Its Bayan Khundii gold mine reached commercial production in the first quarter of 2026. During the quarter, the operation produced and sold 8,527 ounces of gold, generating $42 million in gross project revenue. The mine operated at 94% of target throughput and achieved 96% gold recovery, exceeding the average recovery forecast in its feasibility work.
Bayan Khundii illustrates the project-level characteristics of Mongolia’s market. The transition from development into commercial production can materially affect company performance, while mine commissioning, financing, grade reconciliation, recovery and reserve expansion can be decisive factors in valuation. Mongolia therefore provides concentrated exposure rather than a diversified regional mining portfolio. Investors can access major projects through international parent companies or dual-listed miners, but operational execution and political relationships remain closely connected to individual project outcomes.
Kyrgyzstan Shows the Difference Between Listing and Liquidity
Kyrgyzstan provides another example of the distinction between an exchange listing and practical market access. The country hosts the Kumtor gold operation and has a listed mining holding company, Kyrgyzaltyn. Kyrgyzaltyn ordinary shares trade on the Kyrgyz Stock Exchange under the symbol KALT, but the exchange identifies no market maker for the security.
Kyrgyzaltyn is also the sole shareholder of Kumtor Gold Company. The structure makes Kyrgyzaltyn relevant as an indicator of state ownership and potential privatization rather than as a conventional liquid mining equity. Limited free float, recurring turnover and settlement accessibility determine whether a listed security can be practically accessed by institutional investors.
The distinction applies across Central Asia. Mining production, stock-exchange admission and genuine investability are separate characteristics. Valuable mineral assets and an operating exchange do not necessarily translate into a security with sufficient liquidity for institutional ownership.
Different Listed-Market Structures Across Central Asia
Kazakhstan currently provides the most developed route for investors seeking tradable Central Asian mining exposure. Kazatomprom offers uranium exposure and Solidcore Resources provides listed gold exposure, supported by the infrastructure of KASE and AIX. Liquidity, however, falls significantly outside the leading securities. Uzbekistan has a different profile. NMMC could become a major global gold equity if its proposed flotation proceeds, while Almalyk could introduce substantial copper exposure through a minority offering. The timing of these transactions remains dependent on government decisions. Mongolia offers greater sensitivity to individual mining projects. Oyu Tolgoi provides large-scale copper exposure through Rio Tinto, while Erdene offers more concentrated exposure to a Mongolian producer following the start of Bayan Khundii commercial operations.
Across the three markets, investability depends on factors beyond commodity prices. Free float, custody, settlement, dividend policy, capital expenditure, state ownership and taxation all influence the ability of investors to hold and exit positions. Currency conversion and the transferability of proceeds also affect practical access to regional mining equities. Kazakhstan has already established the market infrastructure needed for significant listed mining exposure. Uzbekistan has the mining assets and prospective privatization candidates capable of expanding its public markets, while Mongolia remains centred on project-level opportunities accessed through smaller or internationally listed companies.
