CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY
Respecting our heritage
Respecting our cultural heritage
Our Bozshakol copper project in northern Kazakhstan is home to several important archaeological sites. In 2009, we selected expert archaeologists to conduct detailed surveys, document the artefacts found, establish whether they could be safely removed, and excavate them. The Margulan Archaeology and Ethnography Institute in Almaty supervised all work.
Detailed surveys confirmed the presence of 25 separate archaeological sites, 15 of which were previously undiscovered. These span from 350,000 years ago through to the late medieval period, providing a comprehensive picture of cultural development in north-eastern Kazakhstan. There are six Stone Age sites, a Bronze Age settlement, five Iron Age burial mounds, medieval burial sites, primitive mines and ceremonial monuments.
The sites, along with artefacts discovered such as knives, tools, copper ore and bronze bullion, prove that the area's ancient peoples were highly developed in using metals and other materials. These artefacts have been carefully excavated, and we plan to open a museum at the site to house them.
