KAZAKHMYS PLC announces the appointment of Mr. Oleg Novachuk as Chief executive and Mr. Matthew Hird as Chief financial officer

/KAZAKHMYS PLC, January 26, 07/ - The Board of Kazakhmys PLC has appointed Mr Oleg Novachuk as Chief Executive to succeed Mr Y K Cha, who stepped down from the post on 31 December 2006. Mr Novachuk will take up his new post on 15 March 2007, following completion of the 2006 financial year-end closing activities. Mr Matthew Hird, at present Financial Controller and Company Secretary, will succeed Mr Novachuk as Chief Financial Officer, on the same date. Mr Novachuk's responsibilities as Chief Executive will include the day to day management of the Group and the implementation of the strategy approved by the board. Mr Hird will be responsible for overseeing the Group's finance and administrative functions, and for investor relations. Mr Vladimir Kim, as Executive Chairman, will remain responsible for the strategic direction of the Company. Mr Novachuk has served as Finance Director of Kazakhmys since 2005. He was previously Vice-President of financial projects for Kazakhmys LLC. Before joining the Kazakhmys Group in 2001, he served for three years as Deputy Chairman then Chairman of JSC Kazprombank, at that time one of the largest private banks in Kazakhstan. Mr Hird has served as Financial Controller and Company Secretary of Kazakhmys since 2005. A qualified Chartered Accountant, he worked with Deloitte and Touche in London from 1994 to 2003 specialising in the audit of mining enterprises and, subsequently, served as Group Reporting Manager and Company Secretary of Vedanta Resources plc from 2003 to 2005. As there are three executive directors already on the Kazakhmys PLC board, he will not join the board at this stage. Mr Robert Welch, at present Deputy Company Secretary and previously Assistant Group Secretary of BPB plc, will succeed Mr Hird as Company Secretary of Kazakhmys plc. Mr Vladimir Kim, Executive Chairman of Kazakhmys plc said: "Kazakhmys has a strong board, which has been recently significantly strengthened with both non-executives and executives of the highest calibre, as announced in the latter part of last year. Within the executive team, Oleg Novachuk already has wide knowledge and experience of our operations and Matthew Hird has a thorough knowledge of the finance function. David Munro will continue to give us invaluable help on strategy." For further information please contact: Jinsoo Yang, Head of Investor Relations Tel: +44 20 7901 7800 Sergei Stephantsov, Deputy Head of Investor Relations Kazakhmys PLC Robin Walker Tel:+44 20 7251 3801 Finsbury Notes to Editors The Group's principal business is the mining, processing, smelting, refining and sale of copper and copper products, including copper cathode and copper rod, and is carried on by the Company's main subsidiary Kazakhmys Corporation LLC ("Kazakhmys"). The Group's operations are vertically integrated. Kazakhmys operates 19 open pit and underground mines and two smelting and refining complexes in the Republic of Kazakhstan. Kazakhmys also owns significant rail infrastructure in Kazakhstan and MKM, a copper products fabrication company in Germany. [2007-01-26]