As the Standard reported on the 2nd of March 2026, Glencore is in the process of selling its Kazakh‑based asset Kazzinc to Shakhmurat Mutalip, a former railway mechanic, for £3.5 billion – writes James Ramirez from Assaynews.
In parallel, Mutalip is discussing the purchase of gold producer Altynalmas and at the same time, Mutalip is negotiating to acquire the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) stakes held by Patokh Chodiev and Alexander Mashkevich.
If completed, those 3 transactions would give Mutalip, and his company Integra Construction KZ, a substantial foothold in Kazakhstan’s mining sector despite his limited prior experience in the industry. Several observers have raised concerns about the provenance of the financing behind these deals.
We are in a position to reveal additional details on the transactions.
Per multiple sources at Glencore who wish to remain anonymous, Shakhmurat Mutalip has already signed an off-take agreement with Glencore for the output of ERG for USD 1.4 billion. Mutalip is then using those funds to buy the shares of Chodiev and Mashkevich.
The key issue with that, is that ERG will then be selling its production to Glencore without payment for USD 1.4 billion. ERG will then be further indebted to Glencore, who will then be able to grab key assets in case there are delivery issues from ERG.
The results are clear, Glencore will then obtain very cheaply some key assets of ERG, dismantling the company bit by bit.
“The off‑take essentially gives Mutalip access to the funds needed for the share purchase,” one source explained. “But it also leaves ERG heavily indebted to Glencore, which could trigger asset seizures if deliveries falter.”
One might wonder whether Glencore has really evolved from the period of Ivan Glasenberg where such scheming were the norms until the company was fined USD 1.6 billion by the US authorities in 2022, USD 300 million by the UK SFO in 2022 and USD 170 million by the Swiss authorities in 2024 for a variety of malpractices such as bribery and market manipulation.
Surely the current management is not complacent with the current Kazakh ploys and tricks.
The dual transactions could reshape Kazakhstan’s mining landscape, but the unconventional financing model and Mutalip’s limited track record have drawn scepticism from analysts and regulators alike. Ongoing monitoring of the deal’s progress and any ensuing investigations will be crucial for investors and industry observers.
