Who Is Behind the Company Searching for Copper Near Atbasar?

The Atbasar District Akimat has granted Teniz Resources three exploration permits valid through 2031. The company plans to search for copper deposits in sedimentary rock, Orda.kz reports.

The three sites cover 38,838.7 hectares, or about 388 square kilometers.

Under the first resolution, the company received access to 14,458.8 hectares in the Sepe rural district. Another 21,645.1 hectares are located in the Pokrovka and Makeyevka rural districts and near the village of Novoselskoye. The third site, covering 2,734.8 hectares, is also in the Sepe rural district.

Exploration on the first two sites is permitted until May 8, 2031, while work on the third may continue until June 28, 2031.

The resolutions do not identify a specific mineral, referring only to exploration for solid minerals. However, the Aurora Group website describes the company’s Teniz project as targeting sediment-hosted copper deposits.

Aurora says the Teniz Basin may contain large copper deposits. Its project page mentions surface signs of copper and at least five priority areas for further exploration.

What Is Teniz Resources?

Teniz Resources Ltd was registered at the Astana International Financial Centre on August 13, 2024.

Madina Kapenova is listed as the company’s sole current shareholder. Since June 2025, she has also served as its chief executive, director, secretary and authorized signatory.

According to Kompra.kz, Kapenova also heads Aurora Minerals Group LLP. Forbes Kazakhstan reported in October 2025 that she is from Karaganda and trained as a geologist.

Kapenova began her career at the Zhairem Mining and Processing Plant. She later spent five years at Centerkaznedra before joining the relevant ministry, where she helped develop and implement Kazakhstan’s new Subsoil and Subsoil Use Code.

How Aurora Began

The early history of Aurora appears in the resume of Australian exploration geologist Kent Balas.

Balas graduated from the University of Melbourne in 2010 and worked at Atlas Iron and Iluka Resources. In 2014, he moved to Kazakhstan to work on Iluka’s exploration project in the north of the country.

According to his résumé, he helped identify promising areas and prepare applications for subsoil rights covering about 60,000 square kilometers. Iluka was searching for mineral sands and tin.

In 2015, Balas became one of the founders and chief geologist of Aurora Minerals Group, where he remained until May 2018. He described Aurora at the time as a service company that introduced foreign technology to Kazakhstan and helped organize exploration projects.

Aurora represented Danish company SkyTEM in Central Asia and Russia. SkyTEM uses helicopter-mounted electromagnetic equipment to study underground structures and search for minerals or groundwater without conducting ground surveys across the entire area.

Kazakhstan is now expanding geological exploration as known reserves gradually decline. The authorities are preparing to auction 100 exploration sites under simplified rules.

Original author: Alexander Zhdanov

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