Kaz Minerals reports slight fall in copper cathode output

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

London-listed 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.

Kaz plans 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 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 lower-cost, open-pit mines and growth projects. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo. Editing by Jane Merriman)