The current year is greeted by the staff of the Scientific and Production Association for the Production of Rare Metals and Hard Alloys of JSC “Almalyk MMC” with good news. In particular, the implementation of the second stage to attract tungsten waste from the Ingichka deposit to processing is in full swing.

By processing the technogenic waste, it becomes possible to increase the production volumes, create new jobs and at the same time produce import-substituting products with high added value.

And therefore, the comprehensive development of the hydrometallurgical shop for the production of tungsten semi-finished products is currently one of the priority tasks of the association. And therefore, much attention is paid to modernizing the laboratory, replacing obsolete equipment with modern electronic analogues. In particular, the laboratory was overhauled and equipped with modern equipment. The laboratory also replaced the lighting, ventilation, heating systems, and installed air conditioners.

Previously, this laboratory took a long time to obtain analytical results, and the accuracy of the obtained analytical results was much to be desired.

It should be noted that the association received a certificate of the international standard ISO 9001:2015. In accordance with the requirements of the standards, it is established that reagents and especially chemically pure substances must be stored in a closed, ventilated storage facility, protected from exposure to sunlight. Based on these requirements, the association's laboratories now use highly energy-efficient refrigeration machines. Such equipment allows for high-quality and safe storage of chemical reagents under specified conditions. It also plays an important role in performing highly accurate analyses.

In order to increase the accuracy of measurement results, instead of two-bowl laboratory scales, electronic digital scales are now used here, which are easy to use.

In addition, an old-style optical device, a photocolorimeter, used to measure the concentration of substances in solutions, has been replaced by a modern electronic analogue.

Thanks to the ICP Spectro Arcos device, it is now also possible to identify more than 70 components in solutions. The advantage of this spectrometer is the ability to carry out express analysis within a short time (90 seconds) and provide analysis results with high accuracy. Considering that more than 90% of the products produced by the association are sold for export, the use of such new generation analytical equipment in order to meet consumer requirements for quality and delivery time is one of the urgent tasks of our time. Through the production of high-quality products with high added value, the export geography of SPA is expanded, which, in turn, increases the volume of tax revenues to the budget.

The specialists of this laboratory determine the state of the solution, the acidity index, the percentage of Na₂CO₃ in the solution, NH₄OH, HNO₃, H₂SO₄, Mo, Si, Mg(NO₃)₂, WO₃ in the solution. And control of production processes is carried out by employees of the Technical Control Service and the Chief Process Engineer Service. Using the modern technologies, more than a hundred analyzes are carried out here every day.

In short, the laboratory, equipped with modern equipment, allows to conduct the research with high accuracy and at a high quality level.