Kazakhmys intends to provide Irtysh copper plant with ore during August

/REUTERS, Tatyana Seroshtanova, August 06, 02/ - Kazakhstan copper corporation Kazakhmys hopes to solve the question of raw material supply to Irtysh brass works during August, said press-secretary of the corporation Vladislav Nickolayev. Irtysh plant was stopped on March 01, 2002 due to raw materials deficit and machinery deterioration. "Load of the plant is equal to zero yet. The works was stopped because the technology there is obsolete; there is lack of crude ore. Complete reconstruction is needed there. There is such a plan and, probably, within three years it will be done", - said Nickolayev by telephone from Dzhezkazgan. Irtysh works, which is situated in the east of Kazakhstan, is one of three plants of Kazakhmys Corporation. During Soviet times the plant was producing up to 5,000 tons of blister copper, however to the moment of stopping it was producing only about 2,000 tons of copper per month. Management of Kazakhmys that had provided Irtysh plant with ore, which was directed to Balkhash brass works, made a decision on stopping of Irtysh plant till August 01 due to under-loading of both works. "Currently we are forced to live on our own Kazakhstan concentrate. It is not enough for our corporation... Balkhash electrolytic workshop is loaded only for a half of capacity. It can produce 300,000 tons of refined copper (a year), but gives only 150,000 tons", - said Nickolayev. Corporation Kazakhmys - Kazakhstan monopoly copper producer - plans to raise copper production to 420,000 tons in 2002 from 418,000 tons in 2001. South Korean company Samsung and its daughter structure own more than 32% of company's shares, the Government owns approximately 25%. [2002-08-06]