CEO: Forum's facilitating of collaborations highly valued

Eurasian Resources Group CEO Benedikt Sobotka lauds the Belt and Road Initiative as an invaluable platform for high-level stakeholder brainstorming and refreshing international discussions on the topics of innovation and infrastructure development.

Sobotka, who is currently attending the third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, highlighted the initiative's role in encouraging bolder and more innovative cooperation with China.

ERG, in which the government of Kazakhstan has a 40 percent stake, is a leading diversified natural resources producer with integrated mining, processing, energy, logistics and marketing operations. It operates in almost 20 countries with over 80,000 employees and contractors.

"We look forward to taking part in discussions (at the forum) about cross-national collaboration on some of the key issues for our industry, such as infrastructure development, trade facilitation and investment," Sobotka said in an interview ahead of the forum.

"I expect to see a lot of important conversations between representatives of different countries, which will be of great interest to us at ERG as our international partnerships — be it with China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, or Saudi Arabia — are a key part of our identity as a company," he added.

As a growth catalyst

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the BRI. Over the past decade, ERG has actively leveraged the initiative to expand operations and build partnerships.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has been invaluable in providing a platform for high-level stakeholder brainstorming and refreshing discussions with participants from other countries on the topics of innovation and infrastructure development, including those directly related to the clean energy transition," Sobotka said.

ERG is positioned in the heart of Eurasia and is a long-term strategic investor in Africa and Latin America, which makes the company important to the economic development of the countries where it operates, according to the CEO.

"The initiative facilitates access to markets across Central and East Asia and Central Africa, which allows for increased trade volumes. It also helps to connect with global markets more effectively, further enhancing trade and the strength of respective regional markets," Sobotka said. "The Belt and Road forum is a perfect occasion for us to further leverage our production assets in Kazakhstan, Africa and Brazil, which are among the global industry leaders in their respective market segments, and supply metals and minerals which are in high demand in China."

ERG's enterprises have been supplying high-quality materials including cobalt, copper and alumina to China for more than 30 years, Sobotka said.

He noted that the BRI has enabled ERG to further enhance and widen its strategic relationship with China and forge a bolder and more innovative vision for collaboration.

"What I consider to be one of the key strengths of ERG's partnering with China within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative is the opportunity to continue to expand and support green value chains," said Sobotka. "In recent years, ERG has established broad and extensive partnerships with China's well-known construction enterprises and financial institutions on project development, operation, finance, sales and procurement."

Strong ties with China

ERG's partnership with China goes back over 30 years, Sobotka stressed. "Particularly at this pivotal moment for the world's energy markets, we are looking forward to further deepening our cooperation with Chinese stakeholders."

China is the world's largest energy consumer and has a great impact on global markets, he said. As the Chinese market and its industries grow, so does its demand for energy.

The annual China International Import Expo has been an important platform for ERG to enhance its cooperation with its Chinese partners. The mining giant has participated in the event every year since its inception in 2018 and will attend this year's edition scheduled for November.

According to Sobotka, the CIIE is a "phenomenal" event that enables ERG to meet with international partners and discuss new ways of collaborating.

"The CIIE is an excellent occasion for ERG to continue the productive discussions and further foster our collaborative cooperation with the Chinese government."

In the global market, ERG and its Chinese partners have also established a strong presence. Some of their key joint ventures include: the Kazakhstan Aluminium Smelter in Pavlodar, the sole producer of high-grade primary aluminum in the country; Metalkol in the DRC, one of the world's largest cobalt producers; and a special coke plant in Kazakhstan.

Toward a greener future

As a producer of critical minerals for the energy transition, including cobalt, copper and aluminum, ERG recognizes its responsibility as a corporate entity to support the goals of sustainable development in all the countries where it operates.

According to Sobotka, ERG has been spearheading green innovation in the Congolese industrial sector, with Metalkol being a prime example.

"Metalkol has circularity at the core of its business model. Unlike conventional mining operations which extract primary ore, at Metalkol, the historic copper-cobalt tailings from third-party mining activities are reclaimed and reprocessed.

"Metalkol's capacity to extract around 100,000 metric tons of copper and around 24,000 tons of cobalt annually is enough to power over 3.5 million electric vehicles," he said, adding that copper is used in solar panels and wind energy technologies and that cobalt is one of the key materials needed to produce EVs and gadgets.

China has been a potent force for promoting sustainable growth. "China's green energy push could hardly be more aligned with ERG's goals," Sobotka stressed, citing the country's strong commitment to popularizing EVs and transitioning to clean energy sources.

"ERG is committed to supporting China's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, and we believe that with support from booming economies such as China, developing economies can also more widely incorporate green technologies into their industries," he said.