Qaraghandy or Karaganda [key], city (1993 est. pop. 596,000), in central Kazakhstan, on the Trans-Kazakhstan RR. It consists of about 50 coal-mining settlements scattered around the central part of the city, and it is a leading industrial and cultural center of Kazakhstan. Its industries include iron and steel plants, flour mills, food and beverage plants, and factories that produce mining equipment, building materials, machinery, and footwear. Qaraghandy was founded in 1857 as a copper-mining settlement. The Qaraghandy coal basin, developed in the late 1920s, is a major producer of bituminous coal; near the city is apower station. The Irtysh-Qaraghandy Canal supplies the city with water.
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