Kostanai Minerals JSC suspended production due to asbestos ask fall

/INTERFAX-KAZAKHSTAN, Kostanai, February 27, 09/ - Kostanai Minerals JSC (Zhitikarinskiy region, Kostanai oblast of North Kazakhstan) suspended production due to asbestos ask fall. As associate director of Kostanai Minerals JSC Elmira Aldamuratovna told to Interfax-Kazakhstan, "currently, the main production subdivisions are out of operation". According to her, beginning 2009 production volume is calculated depending on nomenclature and numbers of orders. "In February we finished the plan before 18. Main subdivisions will be out of operation till March 2. Further work will depend on the amount of shipment to consumers" - E. Aldamuratovna noted. "In March we planned to produce about 20 th. of asbestos, but because of ask fall we have to produce 14 th. tons" - the head of labor department Semen Lyakhov explained to IF-Kazakhstan. At that he stressed that they planned no dismissals. The number of workers makes 3181 people. Kostanai Minerals JSC - is the only enterprise in republic, on production, dressing of chrysotile-asbestos ores and tradable asbestos production. The plant on processing of chrysotile-asbestos ore was launched in 1964. Design capacity is 7 m. tons of ore and 200 th. tons of asbestos a year. Raw material base of Kostanai Minerals JSC is Zhitikarinskoe deposit, which takes the 5th place worldwide on volume of reserves. There are 1 bn. tons of mined rock was extracted and 14 m. tons of asbestos was produced for the whole period of development at open-cast. The main consumers of chrysotile fiber are - India - 29 %, Uzbekistan - 27 %, China - 18 %, Ukraine - 11 %. There are 16 th. tons of asbestos was consumed in Kazakhstan for year 2008 or about 7 % of all production volume. [2009-02-27]