KAZ Minerals to build $1.5 bln copper smelter in Kazakhstan by 2028

ASTANA. June 3 (Interfax) - The KAZ Minerals group plans to build a copper smelter with annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes of metal and costing $1.5 billion in the Abay region in northeast Kazakhstan by 2028, the government press service said.

An agreement to build the smelter was signed following a meeting between Kazakh Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Xi Zhengping, Chairman of the Board of Directors of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Co. Ltd., on Monday.

KAZ Minerals Smelting LLP and China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co., Ltd. (NFC), signed the agreement. NFC will provide design and equipment procurement services, and NFC Kazakhstan LLP will handle construction and commissioning.

"The smelter will use copper concentrate from the Bozshakol and Aktogay mining and processing plants, as well as from Vostoktsvetmet LLP processing plants [all part of KAZ Metals] creating a cluster combining one of the world's largest copper mines with modern smelting facilities. The project, expected to cost $1.5 billion, is set to create over 1,000 new jobs, with commissioning scheduled by the end of 2028," the press service said.

The new facility will also produce refined gold, silver and sulfuric acid, in addition to copper. It will meet local demands for copper processing.

China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Company Ltd (Non-Ferrous China) is a state-controlled enterprise listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, engaged in international project contracts and non-ferrous metal resource development. NFC has investments in mining assets worldwide and conducts business in over 20 countries, including China. It previously led projects for KAZ Minerals' Bozshakol, Aktogay, and Bozymchak operations.

KAZ Minerals is a copper producer, one of Kazakhstan's largest, focused on large-scale, low-cost open-pit mining in Kazakhstan. It operates the Bozshakol and Aktogay open pit copper mines in the Abay and Pavlodar region of Kazakhstan, three underground mines and associated concentrators in the Abay and East Kazakhstan regions, and the Bozymchak copper-gold mine in Kyrgyzstan.