ABSTRACT
The Kazakh steppes and mountain ranges have long been known for their mineral wealth. Mines in the Altai mountains along the country’s northeastern border with China and Mongolia were in use more than 4,000 years ago, since the beginning of the Bronze Age. The mines were well timbered, reaching depths of up to 100 feet, and were worked for tin, copper, gold, and silver (Meyer and Meyer 1936: 275-6). Ultimately abandoned, they naturally deteriorated and became overgrown, unused until they were rediscovered in 1717. More generally, the remains of other ancient mine workings and crude smelters were reported to have guided Soviet geologists centuries later in their re-discovery of many mineral deposits, including those at Zhezkazgan, Maikain, and Tekeli (Daukeev 1995: 1). The many caravan routes that crossed the country meant the riches were also known well beyond the Kazakhstan’s borders. For example, camel caravans arriving in the city of Samara brought copper from mines to the east in Karaganda and archeologists have speculated that the people who lived in the Samara Valley might have been active participants in the east-west copper trade since the late Bronze Age (Anthony and Brown 2001).
