The Asia Miner

JAN-MAR 2016

The ASIA Miner - Reporting Important Issues to Mining Companies in the Asia Pacific Region

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Volume 13 • Issue 1 | 2016 | ASIA Miner | 47 Central Asia CENTRAL Asia Metals has been given the green light by authorities in Kazakhstan to begin an expansion project at its Kounrad copper recovery project. The approval allows the company to exploit the copper contained in the Western dumps. Sourcing of materials and equipment for stage two is in train, with the program's capital cost remaining within Central Asia's US$19.5 million estimate. Central Asia's CEO Nick Clarke said, "Whilst a formality, this State approval offers a clear indication of the Kazakhstan Government's readiness to support foreign investors and it enables Central Asia Metals to fully commit to the second phase of the Kounrad project's expansion." In October Nick Clarke noted that since its foat in 2010, Central Asia had raised US$60 million, had constructed the Kounrad plant on time and under budget, and produced more than 36,600 tonnes of copper at an average C1 cost of $0.72 per pound. The company has increased production volumes in the second half of 2015 and produced 1285 tonnes of copper in October, beating the monthly record set in the previous month. "This increase, together with an approximate 65% devaluation of the Kazakhstan Tenge against the US Dollar, results in downward pressure on the unit cost of production," the company said in a statement. The company has also reaffrmed its 2015 production guidance of 12,000 tonnes of copper despite reduced output during the quarter ending September 30. An operational incident in June affected third quarter output but this has been rectifed, enabling new monthly records to be set. The incident saw a temporary problem with the solvent extraction process, which saw a signifcant quantity of material to be processed lost to the dumps. In the third quarter 2966 tonnes of the metal were produced compared to 3337 tonnes in the same period of 2014. Total 2015 output to the end of September was 8410 tonnes. Central Asia Metals, an AIM-listed UK company based in London, owns 100% of the Kounrad SX-EW copper facility in Kazakhstan. The company also has a 75% equity interest in Copper Bay Ltd, a private company conducting a feasibility study of the Chañaral Bay Copper Project in Chile. At the 2014 UK Stock Market Awards, Central Asia Metals was named Best Basic Resources Plc. The company has recently appointed Roger Davey as an inde- pendent non-executive director and chairman of its Corporate So- cial Responsibility Committee. China Nonferrous Gold (CNG), formerly Kryso Resources, has suc- cessfully commissioned the processing plant at the Pakrut Gold Project in Tajikistan. This task was completed in early October with the company then proceeding to commission the smelting plant. The Pakrut project, of which CNG has 100% ownership, is ap- proximately 120km northeast of Tajikistan's capital city Dushanbe. It is within the Tien Shan gold belt, which extends from Uzbekistan into Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and western China, and which hosts a number of multi-million ounce gold deposits. CNG's managing director David Tang said, "I am delighted to announce our progress at the Pakrut and the achievement of this signifcant milestone. We look forward to the commissioning of the smelting plant." In the six months to June 30, 2015, CNG spent US$29.6 million on the site, compared to US$11.3 million in the same period a year ear- lier. Pre-tax losses narrowed to US$1.2 million, from US$2.5 million in 2014, with cash in the business at June 30 at US$13.2 million. In September CNG awarded an 18-month processing and smelt- ing agreement for Pakrut to China Nonferrous Hongtoushan Fushun Mining Group (CNHFMG). Under the terms China Nonferrous will pay RMB17.99 (around US$2.80) per gram of fnished gold once the operation kicks off on the 12 month production period. If the production rate is above the forecast 82.99%, it will share 40% of the profts, while if it is less than 75%, CNHFMG will bear 20% of any losses incurred by the frm which are attributable to the recovery levels. In January 2012, the Ministry of Energy and Industry of the Repub- lic of Tajikistan formally announced the issuance of a Mining Licence to LLC Pakrut for the Pakrut Gold Project. The mining licence is valid until 2nd November 2030 and the amount of ore that can be mined is variable depending on the mine plan. The mine plan submitted to the Ministry envisages an initial processing capacity of 660,000 tons of ore per annum, increasing to 1,320,000 tons per annum from 2017. Tajikistan is a secular republic located in Central Asia. The coun- try is a member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. Tajikistan hosts numerous operating precious metal mines as well as the largest aluminium smelter in Central Asia. CNG's management team has extensive experience in the mining industry in Tajikistan. Approval for Kounrad expansion The Pakrut Gold Project is in the western part of the prolifc Tien Shan gold belt which stretches along the mountain range from western China to Uzbekistan. Pakrut processing plant commissioned

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