Kentau

a city in Chimkent Oblast, Kazakh SSR, on the slopes of the Karatau Range, 225 km northwest of Chimkent. It is connected by highway (40 km) with the Turkestan railroad station. Population, 57,000 (1972). Complex-metal ores are extracted and concentrated in Kentau. The city has plants for the production of power shovels, transformers, and reinforced-concrete structural members. It is also the site of a mining and metallurgical technicum. Kentau was formed in 1955 from several settlements, including Kantagi and Mirgalimsai.