(Alliance News) - Russian miner Kaz Minerals PLC on Thursday said all metals are on track to achieve or beat their 2020 production guidance, despite a mixed performance for the third quarter of the year.
Kaz, which operates in Central Asia, said it expects gold output for the year to reach the top end of the guidance range of 180,000 to 200,000 ounces, reflecting a drop from 201,500 ounces in 2019.
For the three months to the end of September, gold production dropped by 13% to 50,700 ounces from 58,500 ounces, as a result of lower grades and recoveries. However, on a nine-month basis, output rose by 9.7% to 160,400 ounces from 146,200 ounces.
Quarterly copper production also fell by 3.4% to 76,200 tonnes from 78,900 tonnes the prior year, due to maintenance at Aktogay and lower grades from Bozshakol.
For the first nine months of 2020, output dipped year-on-year to 230,000 tonnes from 230,500 tonnes, but Kaz said it still remains on track for guidance of 280,000 to 300,000 tonnes.
Silver production for the quarter fell by 4.5% to 901,000 tonnes from 944,000 tonnes the prior year. However for the year-to-date, output increased by 4.6% to 1.58 million tonnes from 1.51 million tonnes, leading to Kaz increasing its annual guidance to 2.00 million tonnes.
"Kaz Minerals has delivered strong production in the third quarter and the nine months to September 2020, despite the challenges posed by Covid-19. Copper output from our mines in Kazakhstan has been uninterrupted in 2020, with year to date copper volumes maintained at a similar level to 2019 whilst by-product output is significantly ahead," said Chief Executive Officer Andrew Southam.
On Wednesday, Kaz agreed to a GBP3.0 billion takeover offer from Nova Resources, which already holds a 39% stake in the company.
Nova Resources is a company owned by a consortium comprising Kaz Minerals Chair Oleg Novachuk and Non-Executive Director Vladimir Kim. Under the acquisition's terms, Nova will acquire Kaz Minerals for 640 pence per share, reflecting a 12% premium to the group's closing price of 570.8p on Tuesday.
Shares in Kaz Minerals were up 0.3% at 629.80 pence on Thursday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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