Air Astana to start  2 weekly flights to Salalah

Muscat – Oman and Kazakhstan have agreed to establish a joint centre dedicated to artificial intelligence (AI) enabled mineral exploration, marking a new phase of cooperation in mining, technology and geological research.

Minerals Development Oman (MDO), Oman’s national mining investment and development company, and Solidcore Resources signed a memorandum of collaboration recently to establish the Oman-Kazakhstan Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Mineral Exploration.

The memorandum was signed in Astana during the state visit of His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik to Kazakhstan last week by Solidcore Resources CEO Vitaly Nesis and MDO CEO Mattar Al Badi.

The centre will combine geological expertise, data and AI to improve the discovery, evaluation and prioritisation of mineral opportunities. It is also expected to develop into a regional reference centre for AI-enabled exploration, potentially supporting activities across Central Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

The centre will focus on four pillars: discovery, data, talent and partnership. AI will be used for prospectivity mapping, remote mapping and multidimensional anomaly modelling to identify new and concealed mineral targets.

Under the data pillar, the partners plan to create secure, searchable environments for historical and current geological information while ensuring that participating countries and organisations retain ownership and control of their data.

The talent pillar will focus on training Omani and Kazakh geoscientists and data specialists in digital geology and AI. The partnership pillar will provide a platform for geological institutions, universities, Earth-observation programmes and technology partners.

Within 12 months of signing, the parties intend to launch three initial initiatives. These include a twin pilot programme featuring one AI-enabled exploration project in Oman and another in Kazakhstan, using the same methodology across contrasting geological settings.

The partners also plan an Oman-Kazakhstan Geoscience Fellowship to train an initial group of geoscientists in digital geology and AI, alongside a prototype integrated data platform combining selected datasets for the pilot programmes.

A joint steering committee and joint working group are expected to be established within 30 days. The working group will develop proposals covering the centre’s legal structure, location, governance, funding and data-management arrangements.

Nesis said the agreement supports Kazakhstan’s efforts to strengthen AI capabilities following its designation of 2026 as the Year of Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. He said AI would support geologists rather than replace them, highlighting the importance of developing the next generation of specialists.

Al Badi said the partnership would integrate advanced digital technologies into mineral exploration, improve efficiency, accelerate resource discovery and create long-term value through innovation.

Solidcore Resources is a gold producer operating two producing mines and the Ertis POX growth project.

Air Astana to start  2 weekly flights to Salalah

Astana, Kazakhstan – Air Astana will launch weekly flights from Almaty and Astana to Salalah starting October 23 and 24, respectively, expanding air connectivity between Kazakhstan and Oman.

The Almaty-Salalah service will begin on October 23, operating once a week on Fridays, while the Astana-Salalah route will launch on October 24, with weekly flights on Saturdays. Both routes will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, reported Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee under the Transport Ministry.

Currently, SalamAir operates flights between Almaty and Muscat. The new routes are expected to strengthen trade, business and tourism ties between Kazakhstan and the sultanate.