Research of Jezkazgan In 1926, after graduating from college and getting the qualification of a
mining engineer, Satbayev was sent to an
Atbasar trust of
non-ferrous metals as head of the geological department, and a year later, was elected a member of the Board of Trusted Members. The jurisdiction of the trust was the Atbasar
copper mine and the
smelter of the unfinished Karsakpai village. Construction of the plant began a decade ago, when the British took the concession at the Karsakpaya area and began a search for copper. They built a smelter partially installed equipment, but much of the search was unsuccessful. With the onset of the
February Revolution, the British left the factory, which was later decided to be finished by the Soviet regime. Satbayev, as Chief Geologist Trust, went there to explore the area and learn about the progress of the construction works. Specialists involved in mine and factory management about the prospects of development of copper mining in the region was very skeptical. They believed that its reserves will last for the next 10 to 15 years, not more. However, examining the terrain, Satpayev did not agree with them. He believed that in the
Jezkazgan (then transliterated as
Dzhezkazgan) area there were huge reserves of copper, which had never been found previously. Having Geolkom from the allocation on one machine, Satbayev launched a study area for the presence of metal. However, a year after he began, Satbayev came across a large reservoir of ore capacity of more than ten meters. The analysis, conducted in
Leningrad, showed that it was a previously unknown ore layer rich in
copper. Thanks to this discovery, Satbayev was able to expand exploration work in 1928, increasing the number of machines to two. Finding three more large deposits, the geologist increased the amount of research on the second half of the year 1929. This year opened three more deposits and one new ore field. In these circumstances, Satbayev published in the journal "The national economy of Kazakhstan," an article that states that Jezkazgan may represent one of the richest provinces of copper in the world, larger than most provinces of the
United States. Based on his assumptions, Satbayev concludes that the plant located near Karsakpay would not master the volume produced in the Jezkazgan ore. He also suggested that the region needed a dam and a broad-gauge railway. He came to the higher authorities with all the suggestions, appearing in the media, and even proposed the development of the region in the
five-year plan of the Soviet economic development. Satpayev's suggestions caused a negative reaction among the leadership of the trust and Geolkom. Instead of a development plan proposed by the young geologist in Jezkazgan, they offered to leave the volumes of his research in 1930. Then, Satbayev, insisting otherwise, pursued their proposals at the meeting of the mining and metallurgical sector the Supreme Economic Council. After a lengthy debate, the Supreme Economic Council agreed with the argumentation of the Geolkom and disregarded Satbayev. Not wanting to put up with the findings of the Supreme Economic Council, Satpayev got an appointment with the chairman of the Gosplan Krzhizhanovsky in the spring of 1930, where he justified his proposals. After that, the exploration of Jezkazgan allocated an additional amount of money, drilling equipment, and personnel. In the next two years, the volume of research continued to increase. Satpayev resolved the issue with the lack of water in the region: he was able to agree on the beginning of the next, hydrogeological studies in the area to search for water in 1933. However, in early turn of the year 1933, Geolkom decides on a sharp reduction in the funding. It was only by one percent from last year's amount. The argument in favor of this decision was the lack of any infrastructure in the region: there was no iron, no roads, no water, and none of the many other basic living conditions. In order to maintain his staff and continuing his work, Satbayev was forced to seek additional sources of funding. He made an agreement with the Zolotorazvedka and Lakokrassyryo. However, the available funds were not enough to save either, much less to increase research. Satbayev appealed to the
Mikhail Usov and his friend, professor . With their help, Satbayev was able to speak in the
Soviet Academy of Sciences and prove the validity of the conclusions made by him concerning reserves of Jezkazgan copper ore. The decision of the third session of the Academy in 1934 referred to the need for construction of the third five-year plan in the Jezkazgan copper-smelting plant. The meeting also supported the proposal of Satbayev on construction of the railway line Jezkazgan
Karagandy-
Balkhash. Then, Satbayev substantiated their proposals before the people's commissar of heavy industry
Sergo Ordzhonikidze. After that, extensive research began. Later, it turned out that the Jezkazgan copper deposit was, at that time, the largest in the world in terms of the projected reserves. By 1940, the Dosmurzinskoye dam in the city and the railway connecting Jezkazgan, Balkhash and Karaganda were built. For his services in disclosing the wealthy Ulutau area (opening the Jezkazgan deposit), Satbayev was awarded the country's highest award, the
Order of Lenin in 1940.
As President of the Kazakh Academy of Sciences Kanysh Satbayev began to reflect on the creation of the Academy of Sciences of Kazakh SSR more in 1944. In the August of that year, preparatory activities were initiated alongside the actively conducted correspondence with the Department of Science of the
Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Satpayev regularly made trips to
Moscow, where he argued for the need of the organization of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR as a branch of the
Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Department of Science of the CPSU. In the period from 1944 to 1946, 11 new research institutes were created. The design of the future main building of the now-planned academy has also been developed, authored by architect
Alexey Shchusev. On 1 June 1946, the official opening ceremony of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR took place in the Opera and Ballet Theatre building. Two days later, on 3 June, at the first general meeting of the Academy held in the hall of the
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Kazakh SSR sessions, Satbayev was elected its first president and member. In the same year, Satbayev was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and a deputy of the
Supreme Soviet of the 2 convocation. In 1947, he was elected member of the Presidium of the Committee on Lenin and State Prizes of the
USSR Council of Ministers, and remained there until his death. In 1949, Satbayev was elected a member of the
Communist Party of Kazakhstan. In 1950, he was confirmed to have the academic rank of professor in the specialty of geology and was elected to the Supreme Soviet of the 3 convocation. In 1951, Satbayev, on behalf of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences, attended the organizational session of the Academy of Sciences of the
Tajik SSR. During this session, Satbayev was also elected an honorary member of the
Tajik Academy of Sciences.
Life after dismissal After Satbayev was dismissed from his post as head of the Academy of Sciences of the Kazakh SSR, the president of the Union Academy Nesmeyanov suggested that he take the post of chairman of the
Ural Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences. However, Satbayev refused and preferred to stay in
Alma-Ata (now Almaty) with the position of Director in the Institute of Geological Sciences. Back in 1942 in the Geological Institute, he had the idea of drawing up metallogenic prediction maps of minerals of
Central Kazakhstan. In 1952, Satbayev gathered a group of geologists and began the implementation of this idea. The group consisted of Ramazan Borukayev, Ivan Bock, Georgy Medoev, Grigory Szczerba, Dmitry Kazanli, Ivan Novokhatskiy, and others. In the first year of the research, the group of scientists led by geologist Satbayev developed the "Complex method formational metallogenic analysis and forecasting of deposits", which later served as the basis for comprehensive metallogenic studies in the USSR. In 1953, they amounted to operating models predictive cards. Also, in parallel with the research and development, regular conferences to discuss progress and future plans of action were held in Almaty. In 1954, the final conference, the results of which completed the entire forecast map. Over the next four years, from 1954 to 1958, the maps were checked for accuracy and quality. The final results were announced in December 1958: a forecast map, developed by the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Kazakh SSR was recognized as the most accurate. In this regard, a group of geologists led by Satbayev was awarded the Lenin Prize. == Legacy ==