The Kounrad copper recovery plant, which has been producing copper from waste since 2012, has now produced 100 000 t of copper cathode, London-listed Central Asia Metals (CAML) said of its Kazakhstan-based operation on Monday.
The Kounrad copper resources are within the waste dumps that were formed during prior mining activities of the Kounrad deposit, which started in the 1930s. Since CAML's leaching operations began in April 2012, Kounrad has produced 100 000 t of copper at a C1 cash cost of $0.55/lb.
"We are delighted to have reached this significant milestone of producing 100 000 t of copper from Kounrad at costs that are amongst the lowest in the world. We owe a debt of gratitude to the on-site team led by general director Pavel Semenchenko and guided by our technical director, Howard Nicholson,” said CEO Nigel Robinson.
Kounrad has generated gross revenue of $601-million from copper sales between 2012 and 2019. It has paid $143-million in taxes to the government of Kazakhstan and supports a workforce of 323 employees and 86 contractors.
The plant will operate until 2034.
Robinson also noted that, while cases of Covid-19, were continuing to rise in Kazakhstan, there were not diagnosed cases of the virus among its Kounrad workforce or in the local town of Balkhash, and that the production and sales of its copper had not been interrupted.