Yerkebulan Tazabek's Resume

Yerkebulan Tazabek

Junior mining engineering student with a minor in geology at Nazarbayev University. Experienced in core logging, geological mapping, geotechnical analysis, and fieldwork. Skilled in geological data analysis and passionate about mineral exploration. Two-time winner of the International Geography Olympiad (equivalent to the IMO in geography) and coach of the national geography team.

Astana, Kazakhstan

Work Experience

Nazarbayev University

2025-08 - Present

Research Assistant

  • Working with Professor Milovan Fustic on Carboniferous–Devonian copper mineralization in the Chu-Sarysu Basin.
  • Responsible for paleogeographic reconstruction, fieldwork, sampling, thin-section analysis, and outcrop modeling.
  • Part-time
  • Research

First Quantum Minerals

2025-05 - 2025-12

Field Geologist

  • Conducted geological core logging, orientation, pXRF analysis, photographing, magnetic susceptibility, core recovery calculations, alteration intervaling, and geological modeling in a world-class copper exploration project.
  • Completed a 3-month summer and 1-month winter internship 60 km from the nearest village in remote field; responsible for facies modeling, paleontological core description, and Chu-Sarysu basin analysis.
  • Internship
  • Field Geology

SmartView Innovations

2024-10 - 2025-03

Member of Technical Staff

  • Worked on fine-tuning YOLO Worldv8 models for mining sector applications, focusing on data labeling and hyperparameter optimization for real-time object detection.
  • Contributed to a drone detection project with Brandt LLC (1.4M tenge monthly contract) that reduces wobbler inspection time from 4 hours to 20 minutes through AI-powered detection with 98.1% accuracy.
  • Part-time
  • Startup
  • Mining
  • AI

Daryn RSPC

2023-02 - Present

National Team Coach & Jury

  • Created 120 unique tasks for municipal, regional, and national geography olympiads, specializing in geology, geomorphology, demographics, and urban studies; juried at the Republican Olympiad in 2024 and 2025 with 50,000+ participants across all cycles.
  • Coached the national geography team; students achieved 2nd place in the team ranking at IGeo Bangkok 2025.
  • Volunteering
  • National Team Coach
  • Jury

National Geographic Qazaqstan

2021-12 - 2023-01

Translator

  • Published 25 National Geographic articles into the Kazakh language, reaching more than 14,000 online readers.
  • Managed content on technical and space innovations and edited 11 articles contributed by others.
  • Internship
  • Translation

Education

Nazarbayev University

2023 - 2027
B.Sc. in Mining Engineering (Minor in Geology, GPA: 3.55/4)

Skills

  • R
  • HTML
  • Python (NumPy, pandas, scikit-learn, Matplotlib, PyTorch, OpenCV)
  • Next.js
  • TypeScript
  • VS Code
  • LaTeX
  • SolidWorks
  • After Effects
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • ArcGIS
  • Leapfrog Geo
  • QGIS
  • Pix4DMapper
  • Imago Seequent
  • LogChief
  • Reflex IQ-Logger

Awards & Achievements

International Geography Olympiad

Silver medal, Istanbul 2021

International Geography Olympiad

Bronze medal, Paris 2022

International Earth Science Olympiad

Bronze medal, Aosta 2022

European Geography Olympiad

Bronze medal, Belgrade 2021

Republican Geography Olympiad

Gold 2022, 2021 | Silver 2020

KazMinerals Reacthon Hackathon

1st Place, 2025

Presidential Appreciation Letter

Sep 2022

El Maktanyshy Prize

$4594, Aug 2022