Orica Establishes Kazakhstan Venture

18th May, 2000

Orica Explosives today announced the formation of a new company to manufacture and market explosives in Kazakhstan.

The new company, Orica Kazakhstan, is a joint venture between Orica and local company, Accept Corporation. Accept will have approximately 20% equity in the venture.

Orica Kazakhstan will be the first modern explosives manufacturer to be established in the country. The US$100m explosives requirements of the Kazakhstan mining industry are all currently imported, predominantly from Russia.

Stephen Connolly, general manager of Orica Europe said: "Kazakhstan represents another important link in Orica’s global explosives strategy. This is virtually a brand new market for us and one that we believe will benefit significantly from the introduction of our blasting technology."

Kazakhstan has a land mass of similar size to Western Europe. The country has extensive resources of minerals including lead, copper, gold, zinc, titanium, magnesium, iron ore and silver. It has also been a significant supplier of coal to the former USSR.

Accept Corporation is one of Kazakhstan’s largest private companies with business interests across a range of industries including agriculture, food, construction and telecommunications.

Orica is the world’s largest supplier of commercial explosives, operating in 30 countries.