China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction Company (NFC) will be investing $70-million into high-growth copper company KAZ Minerals’ Koksay project, in Kazakhstan.
Following the investment, which is subject to certain conditions precedent, including regulatory approvals in Kazakhstan and China, NFC will hold a 19.4% stake in the Koksay project.
Koksay is a potential openpit copper mine development project in Kazakhstan, located around 230 km from Almaty.
The deposit has a mineral resource of 736-million tonnes at an average copper grade of 0.42%, with contained copper of 3.1-million tonnes.
The investment into the project will be ring-fenced for the development of Koksay, including a feasibility study which will determine the detailed design for mining and processing operations and the associated capital budget.
The results of the feasibility study will be reviewed in order to assess how and when to proceed with the project, KAZ said.
“We are pleased to welcome NFC as a partner in the Koksay project. We worked successfully with NFC in the construction of Bozshakol and Aktogay and we are looking forward to developing our relationship further as we assess this opportunity in Kazakhstan,” commented KAZ Minerals chairperson Oleg Novachuk.