19th Dec 2005 07:01
Kazakhmys PLC19 December 2005 19 December 2005 Kazakhmys PLC Production Summary for the nine months ended 30 September 2005 For the first nine months of 2005, Kazakhmys PLC copper cathodes productionstood at 301,245 tonnes, averaging 100,415 tonnes per quarter, which was in linewith management expectations. During this period, Kazakhmys processed 1,241thousand tonnes of copper concentrate of which 207 thousand tonnes werepurchased. Copper cathode production was slightly lower in the third quartercompared to the second quarter due to the scheduled refinery refurbishment atthe Zhezkazgan complex and planned mining of lower metal content ores at some ofthe mines. Kazakhmys Group Production by Product Q1 '05 Q2 '05 Q3 '05 9m '05 FY 2004 --------------------------------------------- Ore extraction 000 t 9,592 9,865 9,731 29,189 35,376Average copper grade % 1.00 1.05 1.04 1.03 1.30Average zinc grade* % 3.28 2.75 3.23 3.07 2.77 Copper Concentrate 000 t 386 438 418 1,241 1,607own concentrate 000 t 330 355 348 1,034 1,593purchased concentrate 000 t 6 83 69 207 14 Copper in Concentrate % 24.82 23.90 23.01 23.88 25.2own concentrate % 25.42 24.93 23.92 24.75 25.2purchased concentrate % 20.80 19.74 18.44 19.56 21.4 Zinc Concentrate 000 t 59 50 45 154 150Zinc in Concentrate % 38.4 39.6 41.7 39.7 43.8 Copper Cathodes** 000 t 96.3 108.6 95.2 301.1 428from own & purchasedconcentrate 000 t 94.3 106.6 93.2 295.1 408from tolling concentrate 000 t 2 2 2 6 20 Copper Rod 000 t 1.3 4.6 1.2 7.1 49Metal Zinc 000 t 17.1 11.6 9.6 38.2 18.2Silver 000 oz 4,961 5,632 4,811 15,405 17,718Gold 000 oz 13.1 33.7 26.5 73.2 86.3-------------------------------------------------------------------------------* complex ores only**includes copper used to produce copper rod The Group continued to benefit from strong metal prices, which more thancompensated for the slightly lower copper volumes in the third quarter. Zinc metal production for the first nine months of 2005 was 38,238 tonnes. Theproduction was below management expectation due to the extended ramp up periodfor the zinc refinery resulting in varying quality and volumes of refineryoutput. The full operating capacity is expected to be reached during 2006. The Group also produced 7,116 tonnes of copper rods, 15.4 million ounces ofsilver and 73,247 ounces of gold during the first nine months of 2005. Zhezkazgan Copper cathode production was lower in the third quarter of 2005, due toscheduled smelter maintenance works at Zhezkazgan complex and planned mining oflower metal content ores at some of the mines. As a result of the scheduledfurnace repair at the Zhezkazgan smelter, not all the delivered copperconcentrate could be fully smelted in the period and surplus stock ofconcentrate is expected to be processed in the fourth quarter. Furnace capacitywas reduced during scheduled repair. The Zhezkazgan smelter is expected to operate at full capacity during the fourthquarter. Copper rod production was reduced in the third quarter of 2005, as more refinedcopper was allocated to meet the Group's cathode copper export contracts. Zhezkazgan Q1 '05 Q2 '05 Q3 '05 9m '05 FY 2004 ------------------------------------------------- Ore extraction 000 t 6,759 6,993 6,910 20,661 24,647Average copper grade % 0.87 0.90 0.86 0.88 1.06 Copper Concentrate* 000 t 145.4 154.4 143.1 442.9 668Copper Cathodes 000 t 59.2 64.6 53.9 177.7 236Copper Rod 000 t 1.3 4.6 1.2 7.1 49-------------------------------------------------------------------------------*includes copper used to produce copper rod Balkhash Ore extraction at the Balkash complex in the third quarter was in line withexpectations with copper grades remaining at the same level as in the secondquarter. The copper concentrate and cathode copper production in the thirdquarter were also in line with the second quarter. Balkash Q1 '05 Q2 '05 Q3 '05 9m '05 FY 2004 ------------------------------------------------- Ore extraction 000 t 1,602 1,443 1,437 4,482 5,675Average copper grade % 0.61 0.75 0.75 0.70 0.67 Copper Concentrate 000 t 41.6 50.2 48.0 156.8 175Copper Cathodes 000 t 35.4 42.0 39.9 117.3 172Copper Rod 000 t -- -- -- -- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- East region In the third quarter of 2005, ore extraction at the Eastern Complex was belowthat of the second quarter, primarily due to more complex mining conditions anda temporary stoppage of mining operations at the Irtyshskoe mine in July andAugust caused by the breakdown of the mine's main ventilator, which is now fullyrepaired. At Artemiyevsky mine construction works were completed ahead oforiginal schedule. Higher copper grades more than offset lower ore extraction volumes and as aresult, copper concentrate production in the third quarter was 8% higher than inthe second quarter. Resumption of normal operations at the Nikolaevskoe open pit resulted in highergrade ores being mined. East Region Q1 '05 Q2 '05 Q3 '05 9m '05 FY 2004 ------------------------------------------------- Ore extraction 000 t 1,231 1,430 1,384 4,045 5,054Average copper grade % 2.28 2.17 2.25 2.23 3.20 Copper Concentrate 000 t 143.3 136.4 144.2 423.9 750Copper Cathodes 000 t -- -- -- -- --Copper Rod 000 t -- -- -- -- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For further information please contact: Jinsoo Yang, Head of IR Tel: +44 20 8636 7900Sergei Stephantsov, Deputy Head of IRKazakhmys PLC Morgan Bone Tel: +44 20 7251 3801Robin WalkerFinsbury Notes to Editor Kazakhmys's principal business is the mining, processing, smelting, refining andsale of copper and copper products, including copper cathode and copper rod, andis carried on by the Company's main subsidiary LLC Kazakhmys Corporation. Basedon 2004 production, the Group is the 10th largest producer of copper cathode andmined copper in the world. The Group's operations are vertically integrated.Kazakhmys operates 16 open pit and underground mines and two smelting andrefining complexes in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakhmys also ownssignificant rail infrastructure in Kazakhstan and MKM, a copper productsfabrication company in Germany. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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