Space monitoring reveals more than 2,500 cases of illegal mining in Kazakhstan

The country uses its satellites KazEOSat-1 and KazEOSat-2 for monitoring from space / Photo: Shutterstock

In 2023, monitoring the Earth from space helped Kazakhstani authorities identify 77 new cases of illegal mining within the country’s borders. The technology also revealed that almost one million hectares of cropland are out of use, the press service of the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations and Aerospace Industry said.

What has the data said? The space monitoring revealed 2,503 cases of illegal mining, including 77 new cases in 2023. Moreover, a thorough inspection of the Earth’s surface from space has shown that 900,000 hectares of cropland are unused.

«As a result of the space monitoring in 2023, more than 296,000 unregistered land parcels were revealed on the territory of 22 towns,» the press service of the ministry said.

What is the purpose of the space monitoring? Data the government receives with the help of distant monitoring of the Earth is exploited in the sphere of environment protection, agriculture and forestry, water resources, emergencies and subsoil management.

«The space monitoring of Kazakhstan plays an important role in the management of natural resources by providing accurate data and securing effective usage of land and water resources. This technology facilitates yields in the agricultural industry, improves ecological monitoring and helps counter environment problems and natural disasters,» the ministry said in a statement.

Who is responsible for the space monitoring? The monitoring of Kazakhstan’s territory from space is conducted by Kazakhstan Garysh Sapary, a national space company.

«During our monitoring operations, we use pictures in a high resolution made by our space unit KazEOSat-1, which is capable of taking high-quality pictures necessary to see changes in urban areas,» the ministry added.

The country also uses KazEOSat-2, the second satellite that makes pictures in a bit lower resolution. This unit was designed to monitor the vast spread of land like crop fields and natural resources.

Last year, Kazakhstan announced its plan to combine capabilities of Artificial Intelligence and space monitoring to assess the actual yields and take countermeasures against overreporting, which is a widely spread practice in agriculture that distorts data about agricultural production.

Even though the Ministry of Agriculture said in October 2023 that it hadn’t found any overreporting, an analysis has shown a difference between official statistics and actual figures.