ERG's high carbon ferrochrome
Global mining and metals company Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has launched a new artificial intelligence and machine learning project that will allow operators to control smelting plants with a higher degree of safety and efficiency, and position itself as a global leader in the modernization of the industry, as pushed by its new CEO, Shukhrat Ibragimov. The project is being coordinated by ERG’s R&D centre and Business & Technology Services (BTS, an ERG’s IT subsidiary) together with Kazchrome and ERG’s Metals Department.
In September 2025, ERG began integrating AI tools into an existing IT system controlling a smelting furnace at Aksu Ferroalloys Plant of its Kazchrome subsidiary, one of the world’s largest ferroalloys companies. The initiative started with a ninety-day period of data compilation and big data analysis, carried out in partnership with technology specialists experienced in global mining.
In the next few months, ERG expects to create ten AI modules to manage production, starting with digital tools for predictive diagnostics, smart optimisation, “soft sensors”, and operator guidance. Once validated, these modules will be integrated into the existing automated process control system and then scaled across other furnaces.
Since his appointment last year, the company’s CEO Shukhrat Ibragimov has launched initiatives to modernise the metals and mining industry, with stronger commitments to sustainability and ESG principles. The adoption of new technologies will help achieve a high degree of stability of the production process, improve performance and energy efficiency, and reduce operating costs as well as the failure rate.
“Today, introducing AI in the metals and mining sector is more than just a trend; it is a matter of competitiveness and industrial safety: national and global best practices are progressing from pilot projects to long-term operational benefits,” commented Ruslan Yeskendirov, project manager at ERG’s R&D Centre.
In recent months, ERG has deployed AI projects across multiple areas of its operations. The company put driverless dump trucks and further embedded a generative-AI Manufacturing Execution System (“MES Alina”) at production sites in Kazakhstan. It also integrated AI-powered solutions and digital teaching assistants at Kazakhstan’s first green school, which ERG helped to finance and establish in Rudny. At the same time, ERG has expanded industrial safety programs with digitalisation tools such as QR-based 3D maintenance guides at SSGPO.
Together, these initiatives highlight the Group’s broader strategy of applying artificial intelligence to enhance efficiency, safety, and competitiveness across both industrial and social projects.
