Kazakhmys copper output hits target for full-year

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LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Kazakhmys (LSE: KAZ.L - news) said on Thursday it hit its copper production target for the year, recovering from an output dip in the third quarter, helped by an increase in ore extraction and a recovery in grades.

The London-listed company said it produced 294,000 tonnes of copper cathode equivalent for the year ended on Dec. 31, at the top end of its full-year target of between 285,000 and 295,000 tonnes.

The miner is focusing on developing its Bozshakol and Aktogay copper projects, key to turning the group into a lower cost producer that will get the bulk of production from open-pit mines.

The company suspended its smelter - which converts copper concentrate into cathode - late last summer and is using instead third parties' smelting facilities to reduce costs.

Kazakhmys has been a major power supplier in Kazakhstan but it has refocused on its core copper mining business, selling its stake in rival ENRC to the company's founders in October.

In December, it also agreed to sell its 50 percent stake in power station Ekibastuz GRES-1 to its partner it the facility, Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna.