ERG Deploys Digital Twin Technology to Monitor Bolashak Chrome Mine Shaft in Kazakhstan

Published: Aug 11, 2026 14:40

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[SMM Express] Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has brought shaft-inspection work at its flagship Bolashak chrome mine in-house, with the company's own geotechnical team now conducting laser-scanning surveys of the mine's 1,047-metre deep shaft down to a depth of 627 metres, as part of a predictive-maintenance programme announced 2 July 2026. The work, previously outsourced to third-party contractors, feeds into a digital twin model of the shaft designed to monitor structural condition and reduce risk to personnel and production continuity.

Bolashak, part of ERG's Donskoy GOK operation and developed across the Millionnoye and Almaz-Zhemchuzhina deposits, has been in operation since late 2024 and is being ramped toward its full design capacity of 7.5 million tonnes of chrome ore per year — a volume that alone exceeds three times South Africa's entire monthly chrome ore export tonnage. The mine already runs on largely automated systems, including remote-controlled smart drilling rigs and a fully automated hoisting system. The shift to in-house, technology-driven shaft monitoring signals that ERG continues to invest in operational sophistication at Bolashak well after its initial commissioning, reinforcing Kazakhstan's position as a increasingly automated, large-scale chrome ore supplier operating independently of the production challenges currently facing South African and Zimbabwean producers.

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