June 04, 2026

Why Major Producers are Partnering in Kazakhstan: An Interview with Alex Walker

40 minutes

In this episode, we chat with Alex Walker, CEO of East Star Resources, a company focused on unlocking copper and gold opportunities across Kazakhstan through a combination of brownfields development and greenfields exploration.

We discuss why major industry players such as Endeavour Mining and Xinhai chose to partner with East Star, how the company approaches exploration risk and portfolio management, and why Kazakhstan remains one of the most underappreciated mining jurisdictions globally despite its long mining history and significant geological potential.

Alex also shares insights into how modern explorers should think about value creation beyond market sentiment, the challenges junior mining companies face when transitioning from discovery to development, and why understanding geology, infrastructure, and operational execution is becoming increasingly important in today’s market. We also explore broader industry themes, including investor perceptions of mining, the long-term outlook for copper and gold, and why the mining sector remains fundamental to both global economic growth and the energy transition.

This episode is brought to you by Mining International, a global executive search partner to the mining industry. For bespoke search and advisory services, please visit https://www.mining-international.org/

KEY TAKEAWAYS

East Star Resources’ agreements with major players like Endeavour and Xinhai allow the junior company to advance its flagship assets toward development with minimal dilution and no added debt carriage.

Despite a long history of mining, the country offers significant modern exploration potential, exceptional infrastructure, and a clear, western-modeled mineral code

By leveraging and validating detailed Soviet-era drilling records, East Star Resources has managed to secure large copper and gold resource targets at a remarkably low discovery cost per ton.

Successful junior mining companies must carefully manage risk by targeting infrastructure-led brownfield projects for near-term cash flow

BEST MOMENTS

"The reason that I moved to Kazakhstan in the first place is I wanted an absolute intimate working knowledge of the operations."

"There's a whole wide world out there of people that build mines and make money and don't just mine markets, and they're the people we're interested in working with."

"I like to do is not have—not be reliant on one specific thematic, one commodity that's having a hot run. We're interested in building a company here, and so we need to play long-term."

"The same deposit in Kazakhstan is worth more than that deposit in Australia, or Canada, or Chile... it really is a fantastic place to work."

GUEST RESOURCES

● https://eaststarplc.com/

● https://www.linkedin.com/company/east-star-resources/

● https://x.com/EastStar_PLC

VALUABLE RESOURCES

Mail: ⁠[email protected]⁠

LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠

X: ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠ YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠

Web: ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠

CONTACT METHOD

⁠[email protected]⁠

⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠

Podcast Description

Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.

This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/

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By Rob Tyson

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