BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 28
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan’s KAZ Minerals company has extracted a total of 305,700 tons of copper in 2020, which is compared to 311,400 tons in 2019 and is 2 percent above guidance range with a strong performance at all divisions, Trend reports citing the company.
The report said that the company’s copper sales stood at 300,400 tons, which is also compared to 316,900 tons. Sales were below production volumes due to year-end shipment delays at the Kazakhstan-China border, the company said.
Furthermore, 4Q2020 copper production was 75,700 as compared to 76,200 tons in 3Q2020 with scheduled maintenance completed efficiently.
In turn, full-year gold production equaled 196,300 ounces, which is below 201,500 ounces in 2019 supported gold sales of 204,600 ounces (225,000 ounces in 2019).
December production of the company was impacted by low grade and recovery at Bozshakol and suspension of Bozymchak, however, sales exceeded production following release of inventory.
Full-year copper production at the company’s Aktogay mine was 131,200 tons, which is below 145,700 tons in 2019, exceeding guidance of 120,000-130,000 tons. 4Q2020 copper production at the mine was in line with the previous quarter at 31,900 tons (31,700 tons in 3Q2020) as higher sulfide ore throughput was offset by seasonally lower oxide output.
In turn, full-year copper production at the company’s Bozshakol mine increased by 11 percent to 122,000 tons (110,200 tons in 2019), and was above guidance of 110,000-120,000 supported by higher average grades and ore throughput.
Copper production in 4Q2020 was 31,300 tons (30,300 tons in 3Q2020) as higher grades more than offset lower throughput due to scheduled maintenance, the company said.
Gold production at the Bozshakol mine in 2020 stood at 151,700 ounces (144,800 ounces in 2019) and was above the guidance of 140,000-150,000 ounces due to increased ore processing.
The company’s 4Q2020 gold production at the Bozshakol mine decreased to 31,400 ounces (37,000 ounces in 3Q2020) impacted by scheduled maintenance, lower than expected grades, and associated recovery rates.
Lastly, full-year copper production at the company’s East Region and Bozymchak mines amounted to 52,500 tons, which is below 55,500 tons in 2019 and is above the guidance of 50,000 tons. 4Q2020 copper production decreased by 12 percent to 12,500 tons (14,200 tons in 3Q2020) which is mainly due to the temporary suspension of operations at Bozymchak in the quarter.
The mine’s full-year by-product output in line with guidance with gold production of 44,000 ounces (53,700 ounces in 2019), silver production of 1.9 million ounces (2.02 million ounces in 2019), and zinc in concentrate output of 49,700 tons (38,300 ounces in 2019).
“Bozymchak mine restarted operations on 26 December after a temporary suspension from 7 October following political instability in Kyrgyzstan,” the report said.
The report also emphasized that the measures taken by the company to contain COVID-19 ensured that there was no major impact to the Group’s operations in 4Q2020 resulting from COVID-19, other than minor delays to shipments to and from China.
KAZ Minerals is a high growth copper company focused on large scale, low-cost open-pit mining in the CIS region, with a proven track record for the successful delivery of greenfield mining projects. The Group is listed in London and Kazakhstan.
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