Thursday, April 26, 2012 -
Kazakh copper mining giant Kazakhmys said Thursday extreme winter weather in the first quarter pushed output down 13 percent and disrupted transportation to markets.
"It has been a challenging start to the year with exceptionally low temperatures disrupting the transportation and processing of mined ore," said Kazakhmys' chief executive Oleg Novachuk.
Kazakhmys said it produced 71,100 tons of copper cathode from its own concentrate in the January to March period, and total copper cathode equivalent production of 71,700 tons in the period.
But the London-listed miner also confirmed it would meet its full-year copper production target.
The company plans to make up the lost output by processing stockpiled ore and reopening its Konyrat oil pit mine in the second half of 2012, after a four-year closure.
"Stockpiles have been built up and will be processed over the course of the year, so that we remain on track with our annual targets," Novachuk said in a statement.
The natural resources group aims to produce between 314,000 to 225,000 tons of copper cathode this year.