Sokolovsko-Sarbayskoye Mining Production Association (SSGPO), part of the Eurasian Resources Group (ERG), has opened a new syndicated credit line worth up to $400 million with other firms under common control, according to its recently published financial report. The agreement was finalised in February 2025 and is set to run until 2029. The document states that the interest rate on the loans, denominated in US dollars and euros, will be a market rate.
This latest move follows a similar arrangement made in 2024, when SSGPO signed a syndicated credit line agreement with affiliated companies for up to $300 million, with a repayment deadline of the end of 2028. Furthermore, SSGPO acts as a co-guarantor for ERG’s loans, alongside other subsidiaries within the group. As part of the new credit line, SSGPO provided a loan of $6 million to an unnamed company under common control in June 2025.
SSGPO’s core business is the extraction and processing of iron ore. The company holds a number of iron ore mining contracts in the Kostanay region, which are due to expire in 2033, 2035, and 2040. In addition, SSGPO is currently constructing a hot-briquetted iron plant in Rudny, which is scheduled to commence operations in late 2027. The company’s financial performance for 2024 showed an increase in revenue to 424.1 billion tenge from 389.6 billion tenge in the previous year, although it recorded a loss of 69.3 billion tenge, a slight improvement on the 71.4 billion tenge loss in 2023. The sole owner of SSGPO is ERG Iron Ore Holding B.V., which is part of the broader ERG group. The Eurasian Resources Group itself is co-owned by the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan, which holds a 40% stake, with the remaining shares divided between the heirs of Alexander Mashkevich and the Ibragimov family, each with 20.7%, and Patokh Shodiev, who holds 18.6%. The Ibragimov family is listed by Forbes as the seventh wealthiest in Kazakhstan, with a net worth of $2.06 billion.