Wednesday, August 01, 2012 -
Kazakh mining titan Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) said Wednesday second quarter that 2012 production results were mixed but the mining company foresees strong demand going forward.
“Overall, the outlook for demand of our products remains strong despite the challenging market conditions,” ENRC Chief Executive Officer Felix Vulis said in a company statement.
“We are pleased to report recoveries in production of both ferroalloys and alumina after problems experienced earlier in the year."
The recent share purchase giving ENRC total ownership of the Kazakh coal mining company Shubarkol Komir will add to the firm’s profit margin, Vulis said.
“Shubarkol volumes are reported here for the first time and we expect its operations to make a meaningful contribution to the Group’s earnings going forward,” said ENRC’s chief.
ENRC saw a 12 percent decrease in total saleable iron ore to 4 million tons year-on-year in the three months to June 30. Saleable ferroalloys output slipped 1.3 percent to 416,000 tons in the comparable period.
Alumina production returned to full capacity in June and in line with the second quarter 2011.
ENRC raised production of saleable copper to 9,375 tons in Q2 2012, a 15.5 percent increase over the same period a year earlier.
Electricity sales to third-parties were up a whopping 35.9 percent.
Coal extraction increased slightly, by 0.7 percent year-on-year.
But the volume of goods transported by rail decreased 10 percent versus Q2 2011 due mainly to customers using their own railcars, according to the report.