Solidcore Resources continues the implementation of its 48-year-long social and environmental project

The company will plant a forest on 487 hectares in the Kostanay region of Kazakhstan.

48 years is the expected lifespan of Solidcore Resources’ forest climate project. The project encompasses the planting of 2.5 million seedlings across 487-hectare area in the Kostanay region. Scheduled for completion of all stages of forest planting in 2028, the Company will continue post-planting maintenance work.

The principal objectives of the project are to reduce the company’s carbon footprint, enhance carbon sequestration capacity, and offset greenhouse gas emissions through the creation of new forest ecosystems. The initiative is being implemented in the Fyodorovsky district of the Kostanay region, on highly saline lands that were previously not forested and not used for agriculture or recreational purposes.

The initiative commenced with comprehensive soil analysis and ecological assessments to identify tree species with high adaptability to local environmental conditions. A pilot planting elm seedling on an area of 28 hectares demonstrated a survival rate of up to 90%.

During the 2024-2025 period, approximately 950,000 Siberian elm seedlings were planted over 190 hectares. In total, 2.5 million seedlings will be planted over the course of four years under the project, with subsequent regular verification of carbon sequestration by the plantings and the release of carbon units.

This initiative represents the first voluntary forest carbon project to be formally registered in the National Unified Register of Carbon Units. The project documentation and Carbon Offset Monitoring Plan for the “Afforestation of Non-forested Lands Project” have received approval from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, according to an expert opinion from “Zhasyl Damu” JSC.

Project operations are managed by “Assyl Orman” LLC, which is responsible for annual planting activities, ongoing forest maintenance, fire prevention measures, and continuous environmental monitoring.

According to Marat Bikenov, Director of Assyl Orman, “The Solidcore Resources Forest climate project is unprecedented in Kazakhstan. It constitutes the nation’s only operational carbon farming initiative aimed at large-scale carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.”

Solidcore Resources is committed to expanding its green initiatives. The ESG strategy places a particular focus on the company’s green projects and long-term climate plan. Alongside this afforestation initiative, the company is advancing the construction of solar and gas-fired power plants in the Kostanay and Abay regions, with the overarching goal of achieving a substantial reduction in carbon emissions and contributing to Kazakhstan’s national carbon neutrality objectives.

This year, in recognition of its leadership in sustainable development, Solidcore Resources was awarded first place among enterprises in Kazakhstan’s mining and metallurgical sector in the category “Best Strategy in the Field of Sustainable Development (ESG)”.