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Kazakhstan’s Kounrad mine on course to achieve copper production plan for 2021

Business Materials 15 September 2021 13:54 (UTC +04:00)
Kazakhstan’s Kounrad mine on course to achieve copper production plan for 2021

BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 15

By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:

The volume of copper cathode production at Kazakhstan’s Kounrad mine has amounted to 6,214 tons for the first six months of 2021, Trend reports citing the Central Asia Metals (CAML), which operates the mine.

The Company is on course to achieve its full-year 2021 copper production guidance of between 12,500 tons and 13,500 tons.

Copper sales during 1H2021 were 6,241 tons, with the majority of the cathode sold to CAML's offtake partner, Traxys Europe S.A. The quality of cathode produced remains excellent, at a purity level of 99.9 percent, and continues to meet the requirements of the customers.

During the winter of 2020/2021, leaching was undertaken only on Western Dump blocks for the first time, and this resulted in some differences in solution metallurgy, which the team effectively managed. However, for 2021/2022, winter blocks will be prepared on both the Eastern and Western Dumps, and covering of these blocks in readiness for the winter began in 2Q2021.

In terms of capital expenditure during 1H2021, Phase 1 of the Intermediate Leach System ('ILS') has been completed and 14 kilometers of pipelines have been installed for this purpose with $0.5 million expenditure capitalized.

This will allow Kounrad to irrigate previously leached Western Dump blocks with fresh water pumped from the Lake Balkhash water pipeline via the SX-EW plant and then recirculate the off-flows to new, un-leached Western Dump blocks. Pumps required to move this solution around the site were also installed and the whole process was successfully tested post the period end.

Phase 2 of the ILS project will be undertaken in 2022, and this involves the installation of the irrigation distribution system enabling the separate collection of Western Dump off-flows. It is expected that the ILS systems will be in regular use from April 2023, operating during the seven months of spring and summer each year, and the purpose of this modification is to optimize copper recoveries and maintain pregnant leach solution ('PLS') grades into the processing plant.

Excavation of an 800-meter trench extension is underway around the eastern edge of the Western Dumps to collect solutions flowing in that direction from Dump 21.

The usual anode and cathode replacement activities were undertaken, with 500 refurbished cathodes returned to the site for future replacement and an order placed for the 750 new anodes which will be installed during H2 2021.

Kounrad's 1H2021 EBITDA increased to $45.8 million (1H2020: $27.1 million), with a margin of 80 percent (1H2020: 73 percent) due to the significant increases in the copper price realized during 1H2021.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @nargiz_sadikh

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