Inspirer of creative ideas

The scientific community remembers the respected scientist, corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, the first Director General of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Zhantore Abishev, who would have turned 80 on March 18. It is thanks to him that a new scientific direction has appeared in Kazakhstan – chemical enrichment of raw materials.

Abdurasul Zharmenov, General Director of the National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials, Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, twice winner of the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of science and technology.

…In the early spring of the difficult year 1936, a boy named Zhantore was born on Kazakh soil. As time passed, we can say that the name turned out to be fateful for him. He is an inspirer of innovative ideas and solutions in enrichment and metallurgy, a respected scientist, an intellectual, and a versatile personality.

After graduating from the Metallurgical Faculty of the Kazakh Mining and Metallurgical Institute in 1957, Zhantore Abishev was sent to Karaganda, where he worked for more than 35 years at the Chemical and Metallurgical Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR. Of these, he has been in the position of director for 20 years. He defended his PhD thesis in 1966 and his doctoral thesis in 1982. The following year, J.N. Abishev was elected a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, and in 1996 – a full member (academician) of the Academy of Mineral Resources of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the International Academy of Mineral Resources.

The main scientific direction of Zhantore Nurlanovich was theoretical research and the development of technological foundations of combined chemical and metallurgical processes of complex processing of mineral and man-made raw materials, as well as the creation of a closed low-waste material cycle of mining and metallurgical industries.

Thanks to Zhantore Abishev's inquisitive mindset and fierce diligence, a new scientific field appeared – chemical enrichment of raw materials. This made it possible to involve off-balance sheet, poor, hard-to-enrich ores and metallurgical waste in processing. The importance of this work cannot be overestimated. Especially nowadays, when there is a widespread question about the deterioration of the quality of mineral raw materials.

The creation, with the direct participation of J. N. Abishev, of the theory of the integrated use of iron ore raw materials at the largest Lisakovskoye deposit was the basis for the formation of the raw material base of Kazakhstan's ferrous metallurgy. Prior to this, low-content phosphorous iron ores, as unsuitable for production, were not used on a global scale. The technology of magnetic enrichment of polymetallic sulfide raw materials has been widely recognized. Developments in this area have been protected by 20 patents from different countries.

Zhantore Nurlanovich and colleagues have shown the possibility of directed mineral formation and transformation of ores from practically non-enrichable to enrichable using traditional methods. This innovative step formed the basis for the creation of an enrichment plant at one of the Russian deposits, which is one of the largest in the world. The method is patented in a number of foreign countries. The technology of alkaline autoclave desilination of copper concentrates was implemented at the Zhezkazgan Mining and Metallurgical Combine, revealing a qualitatively new approach to the processing of mineral raw materials.

Zhantore Abishev deservedly enjoyed prestige among the Soviet and international scientific community. His work in the field of integrated use of ore raw materials was received with great interest at congresses and conferences in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Bucharest and Prague, Tokyo and Seoul, Stockholm and San Francisco.

The very idea of integrated processing of mineral raw materials became the starting point for the creation of the National Center of the same name in 1993 as the lead organization for the republican targeted scientific and technical programs for the priority development of mining, mineral processing and metallurgy. Zhantore Abishev was appointed its first CEO.

As a dedicated scientist and a true scientific leader, Zhantore Abishev had far-reaching plans. He worked hard, being a role model, and knew how not to interfere with the work of others. The high human qualities of J.N. Abishev made it possible to organize a strong team of like-minded people. Our task was to provide a real breakthrough in science. And the center was confidently moving towards this goal. It so happened that Zhantore Nurlanovich could not see the fruits of his endeavor. His life ended in 1999.

Today we are not ashamed in front of the memory of our teacher, our first supervisor. The National Center for Integrated Processing of Mineral Raw Materials has become a real brand. Our developments are recognized abroad. According to our technologies, production facilities operate on all continents of the planet. The achievements of our scientists have been repeatedly awarded the highest state awards.

For many years of work in the field of science and development of the mining and metallurgical industry, Zhantore Nurlanovich Abishev was awarded with commendations and honorary diplomas of the Supreme Council of the Kazakh SSR, the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, and the medal "For Valiant Labor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of V. I. Lenin", the medal "Veteran of Labor", the Order "Badge of Honor". He was an honored inventor of the Republic of Kazakhstan. In 2001, Zhantore Abishev was posthumously awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Kazakhstan in the field of science, technology and education for a series of works on the commercialization of innovative developments. Name of J.N. Abisheva is forever immortalized in the annals of Kazakh science. For his invaluable contribution to the development and establishment of the Chemical and Metallurgical Institute, the decree of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Kazakhstan dated October 20, 2000 named the Chemical and Metallurgical Institute after him.

Kazakhstanskaya Pravda newspaper, No. 52 (28178), March 19, 2016