Baku, Azerbaijan, April 30
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
Kazakh KAZ Minerals company plans to produce 80,000 - 85,000 metric tons of copper cathode in 2015, the company reported on April 30.
"Copper production remains on track to achieve our guidance of 80,000-85,000 metric tons of cathode in 2015," Chief Executive of the company Oleg Novachuk said.
In the first quarter of 2015, KAZ Minerals produced 21,500 tonnes of the copper in concentrate (9 percent below the previous quarter). It mainly resulted from the lower volume of copper in ore mined at the Artemyevsky and Orlovsky mines.
Compared to first quarter of 2014, copper in concentrate production only declined by 3 percent in the reporting period, reflecting stockpiling of ore in first quarter of 2014 and the contribution from Bozymchak mine in first quarter of 2015.
Copper cathode production in the first quarter of 2015 was 10 percent below the corresponding period of 2014 and hit 19,100 metric tons, reflecting a decrease in copper in concentrate output and the small build-up of work in progress at the smelter in the reporting period 2015.
Zinc in concentrate output reached 25,100 metric tons in Jan. - March 2015 (22 percent below the results of the fourth quarter of 2014 and 21 percent below the first quarter 2014).
Output of silver in concentrate in the first quarter of 2015 decreased by 27 percent from the previous quarter to 864,000 ounces, in line with the lower silver in ore output from the mines. However, silver granule output of 895,000 ounces was 11 percent above the fourth quarter of 2014 following a release of work in progress in the first quarter of 2015, compared to the build-up reported in fourth quarter of 2014.
Silver output is anticipated to be lower in 2015 compared to 2014 as mining activity temporarily moves to lower by-product grade areas in the East Region.
Gold bar production of 6,400 ounces in Jan. - March 2015 was 43 percent or 4,800 ounces below the fourth quarter of 2014 levels due to a 21 percent decline in gold in concentrate output, with the lower volume of gold in ore extracted and a build-up of work in progress at the smelter and gold in concentrate stock levels.
Meanwhile the overall Group gold production is expected to increase to 42,000-47,000 ounces in 2015 from 35,000 ounces in 2014. This includes the contribution from the ramp up of Bozymchak.
KAZ Minerals PLC is a high growth copper company focused on large scale, low cost, open pit mining in Kazakhstan. It is a leading copper producer in Kazakhstan with five operating mines and four concentrators. In 2014, total copper cathode output from continuing operations was 84 kt. The Group's continuing operations also produced 121,000 metric tons of zinc in concentrate, 3.44 million ounces of silver and 35,000 ounces of gold in 2014.
The Group has two major copper projects under construction, Bozshakol and Aktogay, and a third, Koksay, at scoping stage. These projects are expected to deliver one of the highest growth rates in the industry and transform KAZ Minerals into a company dominated by world class open pit copper mines.
Edited by S.I.
Follow the author on Twitter: @E_Kosolapova
