JSC ShalkiyaZinc LTD is a mining company with rights to exploration and production, owns a Subsoil Use Contract for the extraction of polymetallic ores at the Shalkiya deposit, as well as a Contract for the extraction of groundwater in areas of wells No. 1-8 of the Shalkiya deposit in Kyzylorda region of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Shalkiya polymetallic ore deposit (zinc, lead) is located 17 km northeast of the city of Zhanakorgan in the Kyzylorda region in the south of the Republic of Kazakhstan (67o25’00’’E east longitude and 44o01’20’’N north latitude).

The total zinc reserves of the Shalkiya deposit, according to the research company BrookHunt (report as of November 2006), account for more than 30% of all reserves of the Republic of Kazakhstan and are the 5th largest deposit in the world with proven and probable reserves of 6.5 million tons of zinc according to the JORC classification .

The nearest settlement, which also bears the name Shalkiya, is located 4 km south of the mine and was built during Soviet times to provide housing for miners’ families. Currently, the population of the village is approximately 5 thousand people.

In topographical terms, the area is a hilly plain with an absolute height ranging from 250 to 300 m. The surface drainage system is poorly developed and consists of small seasonal streams that form part of the drainage area of the Syr Darya River. The vegetation is predominantly steppe grass and low-growing shrubs. The Shalkiya mine has access to a railway, which is connected to the Zhanakorgan railway station, located on the main highway between Kyzylorda and Turkestan. Yany-korgan railway station is part of the main railway system connected to other parts of Kazakhstan. Uzbekistan, Russia and China.