Kazakhmys intends to output 420.000 tones of copper in year 2007, 404.000 tones - in year 2006

/Almaty office of REUTERS, Balkhash, Raushan Nurshaeva, November 6, 06/ - Kazakhstan copper monopolist Kazakhmys plans to output this year 404.000 tones of cathode copper and to increase the production next year to 420.000 tones, the chairman of Board of the company Eduard Oghay said to Reuters. He also informed that Kazakhmys by the end of the year intends to pass the program of modernization of production technology in order to increase the percentage of extraction of copper concentrate from. Moreover, in April of year 2007 Kazakhmys put in operation the sulfuric-acid plant at Balkhash mining and smelting plant, worthy of $100 m., which will allow to decrease harmful discharge in atmosphere by 95%. "This year we will produce 368.000 tones with our own raw materials, and with imported concentrate we will process 404.000 tons cathode copper... Relative to next year... we must get the production stage at 420.000 tones in terms of cathode copper," he said to Reuters on Saturday. Last year the company produced 397.000 tones of copper, compared to 428.000 tones in year 2004. Oghay said that today the level of extraction of copper concentrate makes 85 %, and the company intends to raise it to 90-95%. "We have 10% augmentation, we should keep it," he noted. "We would like to provide the completeness of extraction of metals from ores in our plants, including the high metallurgic levels. It seems to be very important to increase the production and to be more profitable and competitive," he said. Increase in extraction of concentrate only by 5% will allow to get 20.000 tones of metal a year extra, Oghay said. According to his words, the program of modernization will cost "dozens of millions of dollars, but not hundreds". "We have technologies of the post-Soviet period... for today technologies all around the world are more modern than those which are in our hands," he said. During the meeting with deputies of the ecology committee of the lower chamber of the parliament majillis, coming to Balkhash, Oghay said that in April of year 2007 Kazakhmys will put in the sulfuric-acid plant at Balkhash mining and smelting plant with capacity at 1.2 m. sulfuric acid a year. According to the words of the chairman of Board of Kazakhmys Yerzhan Ospanov, the company intends to deliver the acid to Kazatomprom and Kazfosfat. If there is no sufficient demand for acid, the company runs the construction of the workshop for sulfur utilization. For today Balkhash mining and smelting enterprise annually throws out in atmosphere 740.000-760.000 tones of harmful substances. [2006-11-06]