Rare Metals Kazakhstan has received two licenses for the development of the Obukhovskoye titanium-zirconium deposit in the North Kazakhstan region. This was disclosed in its 2025 financial statement.
«On March 5, 2026, the Company was issued two 25-year licenses for the extraction of solid minerals (titanium and zirconium) at the Obukhovskoye deposit (Note 21, «Events after the Reporting Date»). As of December 31, 2025, these licenses had not yet been issued. Therefore, the Company assumes the obligations set out below beginning on March 5, 2026. This information is disclosed due to the materiality of these obligations for assessing the Company’s performance,» the statement says.
According to the financial document, the signature bonus of 1.8 billion tenge for Obukhovskoye was paid in 2024 following the results of an auction for subsoil use rights.
Previously, the Obukhovskoye deposit was developed by Tioline LLC, but a shareholder conflict erupted. The Ministry of Industry and Trade later terminated the company’s subsoil use contract, its former management was suspected of illegal mining after the subsoil use rights were revoked. Further exploration is still possible at the deposit, the ministry stated.
As of the end of 2025, the ultimate owner of Rare Metals Kazakhstan, through Kaustik JSC, was the private company Titanium One Ltd. According to the adata.kz database, the founders of Titanium One Ltd. are Konstantin Kan and Opportunity Venture I Limited Partnership Fund, registered in Hong Kong.
“On September 25, 2025, a Financial Loan Agreement was signed with Opportunity Venture I Limited Partnership, in an amount not exceeding the financial loan limit of 1,542,766,000 tenge, at a rate of 16.5% per annum for a period until December 31, 2028. As of December 31, 2025, a tranche in the amount of 846,888 thousand tenge was received and interest on the loan in the amount of 20,930 thousand tenge was accrued, the unused limit under the loan agreement is 695,878 thousand tenge,” the report specifies.
According to media reports, the Obukhovskoye deposit was discovered in 1958 and explored until 1970. It was previously mined in two open pits, which were partially tapped. It will now be developed within the boundaries of four pits without the use of drilling and blasting, as reported last year. At that time, the deposit was planned to be mined for eight years with a production capacity of up to 800,000 tons of ore.
Rare Metals Kazakhstan’s loss for 2025 amounted to 762 million tenge. Interestingly, during the reporting period, the company recognized sponsorship expenses of 145 million tenge under a contract with the Qyzyljar Asar corporate foundation and the Kyzyl-Zhar SK Football Club LLP. The total contractual amount was 204 million tenge, with the remaining 59 million tenge paid in January of this year.
