American mining companies are interested in the Bakyrchikski deposits. In the Kokchetavski region, the local mining administration has concluded an agreement with an Italian company to produce jewelry from local gold and semiprecious stones. Kazakhstan contributed approximately 7 percent of the former Soviet Union's total gold production. Soon after the republic announced its sovereignty, the government set a Kazakh production goal of up to five tons of gold a year. A bill on gold establishes a government monopoly on the purchase, storage, and sale of gold.
Private capital can only participate in exploration, mining, and processing.
And even these areas are subject to strict control. Any activity concerning precious metals can only be conducted with special licenses-a procedure that the government is currently working out. It is unlikely that the government will make many economic concessions to foreign firms. The government intends to define the volume of production and dictate its technological and ecological requirements. Kazakhstan is accumulating a gold reserve that will become the foundation for the future national currency.