Kaz Minerals 9-month copper cathode output falls

(Adds share price, debt, zinc and gold output)

Oct (HKSE: 3366-OL.HK - news) 29 (Reuters) - Kazakh copper producer Kaz Minerals (LSE: KAZ.L - news) saw a slight fall in copper cathode output in the first nine months of the year, it reported on Thursday, but said it was on track to achieve its full-year target.

The company's London-listed shares, were down nearly 5 percent at 114 pence by 1005 GMT, extending a 55 percent fall so far this year.

Kaz produced 58,000 tonnes of copper cathode in the nine-month period, compared with 59,000 tonnes in the same period a year earlier.

The company said it was on track to achieve its 2015 copper cathode production target of 80,000 tonnes to 85,000 tonnes as it expects to boost output in the fourth quarter.

Zinc output this year is now expected to be at the upper end of its previous forecast of 90,000 tonnes to 95,000 tonnes, while gold output is still on track to hit its forecast of between 34,000 ounces and 38,000 ounces.

However, the company is planning to increase its copper output to about 300,000 tonnes by 2018 through three new projects: Bozshakol, Aktogay and Koksay.

The commissioning of its Bozshakol project in northern Kazakhstan, initially expected in the fourth quarter of this year, is now expected in the first quarter of 2016, following a fire there in August.

The company said on Thursday it expects first copper cathode output from Aktogay in the fourth quarter of this year.

Kaz, which is aiming to become a lower cost producer that relies on open-pit mines for most of its production, last year hived off some of its oldest and least-profitable assets to a private company owned by two of its shareholders to focus on the lower-cost mines and growth projects.

The company said on Thursday its net debt had risen to $1.9 billion at the end of September from $1.6 billion at the end of June, as it invested in the new projects. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo. Editing by Jane Merriman, Greg Mahlich)