Kaz Minerals' Aktogay mine ahead of budget, boosts share price

* Kaz Minerals (HKSE: 0847.HK - news) share price outperforms wider market

* Seen on cusp of being large-scale, low-cost producer

LONDON, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 6 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan copper firm Kaz Minerals on Tuesday said its major new copper project at Aktogay would deliver its next phase of production early in 2017 at a lower cost than expected.

The news lifted the company's share price by 2.3 percent by around 10 GMT, while the broader market fell nearly 2 percent.

Analysts said the lower capital expenditure would boost the balance sheet and a long development phase was over.

"Kaz Minerals is on the cusp of transforming itself from a developer with legacy assets into a large-scale, low cost producer," BMO Capital Markets said in a note.

Kaz Minerals is bringing online two major copper projects, which it describes as world-class open-pit mines -- cheaper than having to extract from deep underground.

It began producing copper from the most accessible oxide ore at Aktogay late last year and said it expects copper from sulphide ore to begin early in 2017.

In a statement, Kaz Minerals said the Aktogay project budget has been reviewed and reduced by $100 million to $2.1 billion as construction had been quicker than expected and because of the weakness of the local currency, the tenge.

Oleg Novachuk, chief executive, said the company was focused on ramping up production at Aktogay and Bozshakol, its other new plant, which began production in February.

The company will give full-year production guidance at the time of its results in February.

Copper prices have lagged a rally in other commodities, although U.S. President Elect Donald Trump's promise of major infrastructure projects gave the metal a spur in November.

Many in industry say the outlook for copper is relatively strong and companies are on the hunt for high-quality assets. (Reporting by Barbara Lewis, editing by David Evans)