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German chemicals group BASF has localized production of four types of mining reagents at Topan’s facility in Uralsk. The company calculates their Kazakhstani content at between 51% and 64%. Production brings chemical supplies closer to local businesses, although the ingredients are still imported (inbusiness.kz).
What happened
BASF and Topan have been working together since 2024. The Uralsk facility produces three Luprofroth frothers — 330, 278 and 712 — and the molybdenum collector Lupromin 1668. These substances help separate valuable minerals from waste rock during ore processing.
BASF supplies the ingredients and technology, while Topan blends the raw materials, checks quality and packages the finished products. This arrangement is known as toll manufacturing: the customer supplies the raw materials, and a partner handles production at its own facilities.
The company reports the highest Kazakhstani content for Luprofroth 712, at 64%, and the lowest for Luprofroth 330, at 51%. The chemical ingredients themselves are not yet synthesized in Kazakhstan: they come from BASF facilities abroad.
What this means
For Topan, the partnership keeps its production facilities busy and offers an opportunity to learn the international group’s technologies. For mining companies, local production could make reagents easier to source. Dependence on imported ingredients remains, however.
BASF’s laboratory in Almaty helps tailor formulations to Kazakhstani ore. Samples are studied and tested there, after which trial batches are produced in Uralsk and tested at industrial sites.
“Ores vary greatly, and chemical solutions are constantly changing to accommodate that variability,” explained Rostislav Kamkin, general director of BASF Central Asia LLP.
He said industrial trials of a new reagent can take about a year. During that time, the customer needs to assess the formulation’s effectiveness and the reliability of supplies.
Which products are planned next
BASF is exploring the possibility of localizing production of two more frothers — Luprofroth 168 and Luprofroth 110. Their production is expected to be tied to the launch of new mineral processing plants whose process designs specify these reagents.
Another area is chemicals for processing non-sulfide ores, including raw materials containing lithium, tungsten and rare earth metals. The company is considering expanding its range as customers emerge. Topan, for its part, says it is ready to increase capacity.
