Ausenco wins contract for Kazakhmys $1.8 billion copper project in Kazakhstan
Ausenco has been awarded a A$45 million Create phase engineering services contract for the $1.8 billion Bozshakol copper project owned by Kazakhmys. Ausenco Minerals and Metals business will be providing engineering services for the concentrator plant that is expected to have a throughput of around 28 28 Mt/y. The Bozshakol copper project is located on a greenfield site near the village of Bozshakol, approximately 220km northeast of Astana in northeast Kazakhstan. On September 8, 2011 Ausenco announced it had received a Letter of Intent to deliver two projects (Bozshakol and Bozymchak) worth A$70 million in revenue. Bozshakol is the second of these projects and the contract has now been signed.Bozshakol is located close to existing power, transportation and other infrastructure. The deposit has a Mineral Resource of 1,173 Mt at an average grade of 0.35% Cu, including 832 Mt of Measured and Indicated Resource with an average copper grade of 0.37%. The orebody contains valuable byproducts of gold and molybdenum. It will have a production life of over 40 years, with average output of 75,000 t/y of copper in concentrate, although the production will average 100,000 t for the first 14 years. At current prices, Bozshakol has a highly competitive operating cost, in the second quartile for copper mines globally.
Bozshakol will have a three year development phase, which will start by the end of 2011, slightly ahead of schedule. Pre-production mining will begin in 2014, with the first ore to be processed at the associated concentrator during 2015. The project has a capital cost in the region of $1.8 billion, and is being funded from the existing $2.7 billion financing facility provided by the China Development Bank and Samruk-Kazyna.
When it was announced in August, Bozshakol was the largest single mine development in Kazakhstan by both volume and value and will employ around 1,500 people at peak construction activity in the development stage, and slightly over 1,500 people when operational.
Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said the contract win further builds the company’s relationship with Kazakhmys and increased its footprint in the high growth region of Central Asia. “We’re excited about the opportunities ahead of us and look forward to working with the owner teams to deliver these important projects.
Kazakhmys is a leading international natural resources group with significant interests in copper, gold, zinc, silver, power generation. It is the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan and one of the top worldwide with 17 operating mines, 10 concentrators and 2 copper smelters. It had revenues of $3.2 billion in 2010 with Group EBITDA (excluding special items) of $2.8 billion. The Group employs some 61,000 people, principally in Kazakhstan.
Ore extraction of 25,003,000 t in the first nine months of 2011 was in line with the same period in 2010. Ore output declined slightly across all regions in Q3 2011 and was just 2% below Q2 2011. The average copper grade over the first nine months was 1.01% Cu, in line with earlier guidance, compared to 1.10% Cu in the same period of 2010. The main factor was the declining grade at the mature mines in the Zhezkazgan Region. Central Region also saw a decline in grade, due to a combination of operations moving to less mineral rich areas and natural depletion. The average copper grade is likely to remain at around 1.00% for the rest of 2011.
The combination of stable ore output and lower grades in the first nine months of 2011 against the comparative period, led to a 7% reduction in metal in ore mined. The lower level of metal in ore mined is reflected in the production of copper in own concentrate of 229,900 t. Production of copper in concentrate during the first nine months of 2011, and the comparative period, benefited from the reprocessing of waste material from the Balkhash furnaces and converters. Waste material will continue to be available for reprocessing throughout 2012. Copper cathode equivalent production from own concentrate in the first nine months was 226,900 t, 5% below the corresponding period reflecting the lower concentrate production but partially offset by a release of work in progress carried over from 2010. The production of 73,900 t of copper cathode equivalent in Q3 2011 was 6% below the previous quarter, reflecting the 5% decrease in own copper in concentrate production. The Group remains on track to meet its 2011 production target of 300,000 t of copper cathode equivalent.
Bozshakol will have a three year development phase, which will start by the end of 2011, slightly ahead of schedule. Pre-production mining will begin in 2014, with the first ore to be processed at the associated concentrator during 2015. The project has a capital cost in the region of $1.8 billion, and is being funded from the existing $2.7 billion financing facility provided by the China Development Bank and Samruk-Kazyna.
When it was announced in August, Bozshakol was the largest single mine development in Kazakhstan by both volume and value and will employ around 1,500 people at peak construction activity in the development stage, and slightly over 1,500 people when operational.
Ausenco CEO Zimi Meka said the contract win further builds the company’s relationship with Kazakhmys and increased its footprint in the high growth region of Central Asia. “We’re excited about the opportunities ahead of us and look forward to working with the owner teams to deliver these important projects.
Kazakhmys is a leading international natural resources group with significant interests in copper, gold, zinc, silver, power generation. It is the largest copper producer in Kazakhstan and one of the top worldwide with 17 operating mines, 10 concentrators and 2 copper smelters. It had revenues of $3.2 billion in 2010 with Group EBITDA (excluding special items) of $2.8 billion. The Group employs some 61,000 people, principally in Kazakhstan.
Ore extraction of 25,003,000 t in the first nine months of 2011 was in line with the same period in 2010. Ore output declined slightly across all regions in Q3 2011 and was just 2% below Q2 2011. The average copper grade over the first nine months was 1.01% Cu, in line with earlier guidance, compared to 1.10% Cu in the same period of 2010. The main factor was the declining grade at the mature mines in the Zhezkazgan Region. Central Region also saw a decline in grade, due to a combination of operations moving to less mineral rich areas and natural depletion. The average copper grade is likely to remain at around 1.00% for the rest of 2011.
The combination of stable ore output and lower grades in the first nine months of 2011 against the comparative period, led to a 7% reduction in metal in ore mined. The lower level of metal in ore mined is reflected in the production of copper in own concentrate of 229,900 t. Production of copper in concentrate during the first nine months of 2011, and the comparative period, benefited from the reprocessing of waste material from the Balkhash furnaces and converters. Waste material will continue to be available for reprocessing throughout 2012. Copper cathode equivalent production from own concentrate in the first nine months was 226,900 t, 5% below the corresponding period reflecting the lower concentrate production but partially offset by a release of work in progress carried over from 2010. The production of 73,900 t of copper cathode equivalent in Q3 2011 was 6% below the previous quarter, reflecting the 5% decrease in own copper in concentrate production. The Group remains on track to meet its 2011 production target of 300,000 t of copper cathode equivalent.
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