Tag Archives: metals and mining

Senior Central Bank official named head of Kazakhstan’s Kazatomprom

AUG. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — Galymzhan Pirmatov, formerly deputy chairman of the Kazakh Central Bank, was named head of Kazatompron, Kazakhstan’s atomic energy agency, replacing Askar Zhumagaliyev who was made a deputy PM earlier in August (Aug. 31). Kazatomprom is a high profile company in Kazakhstan, with Pres. Nursultan Nazarbayev pushing nuclear power and uranium mining. Mr Pirmatov has previously been a VP at Kazatomprom.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Explosion kills three Kazakh coal miners

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ALMATY, AUG. 31 2017 (The Conway Bulletin) — — A methane gas leak triggered an explosion at a mine in central Kazakhstan, killing three coal miners in the worst Kazakh mining accident since 2008 when 30 people died in a blast.

The Kazakhstanstkaya mine is located near the city of Karaganda and is reportedly owned by the steel works at nearby Timirtau. The steel factory is owned by Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal.

The reputation of ArcelorMittal’s factory has fallen over the last few years as it cut jobs. This was partly linked to a global economic downturn and partly a result of international sanctions on Iran, a core client.

The factory now employs around 12,000 workers, down from 15,000 only a few years ago. It had also tried to cut staff salaries, although this effort was rebuked.

Kazakhstan has a patchy record for coal mining safety. As well as the 2008 accident, a monorail accident last year also killed three miners at another coal mine owned by ArcelorMittal. In 2006, 41 miners in Kazakhstan died in a methane blast.

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(News report from Issue No. 342, published on Sept. 7 2017)

Kazakhstan’s KAZ Minerals raises expectations

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AUG. 17 2017 (The Bulletin) — Kazakh miner KAZ Minerals said it was targeting production of 300,000 tonnes of copper in 2018 after a significant boost to output and copper prices in the first half of the year. KAZ Minerals is an open-pit mine and its operations are focused on Kazakhstan. It doubled production in the first half of the year from the same period in 2016.

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(News report from Issue No. 340, published on Aug. 20 2017)

Metal production rises in Kazakhstan

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JULY 19 2017 (The Bulletin) — Metal production in Kazakhstan mainly rose in the first half of the year, government data showed, giving the country’s metal producers and miners a lift. Data showed that Kazakhstan’s copper output increased by 5.4% in the first six months of 2017 compared to the same period in 2017, and that steel output rose by 9.7%. KAZ Minerals is Kazakhstan’s biggest copper producer and Arcelor Mittal, which owns the Temirtau steel factory is the biggest steel producer.

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(News report from Issue No. 337, published on July 27 2017)

Armenian Lydian secures more support

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JULY 4 2017 (The Bulletin) — Armenian gold miner Lydian said that it had secured another $25m loan from the Orion and Resource Capital funds, specialist mining creditors, to help pay for the construction of its operations at its Amsular site in the south of the country. Earlier this year it also secured a $50m loan for funding on the same project from ING Bank. Armenia has been looking to boost mining projects.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

Stock market: KAZ Minerals, Georgia Healthcare

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JULY 16 2017 (The Bulletin) — In a rocky fortnight for stocks in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, only KAZ Minerals and Georgia Healthcare bucked the trend and returned growth. Both have had stellar years and are hitting all-time highs.

For KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan-focused copper producer formerly called Kazakhmys, production costs at its sites in north Kazakhstan have been lower than previously expected giving it greater margins. Copper prices have been fairly stable, trading in the $250 – $270 per lb corridor this year after a jump at the end of 2016.

For Georgia Healthcare, analysts have simply underestimated the profitability of the product that it was offering. This profitability may have been a motivating factor for London-listed BGEO Group, which owns a 57% stake in Georgia Healthcare, to tell investors that it was going to split into two companies. BGEO Group plans to hold the Georgia Healthcare stake, along with other assets, but it will spin off Bank of Georgia into its own London-listed company.

On the downside Nostrum was the biggest faller, shedding more than 15% of its price. It is now trading at below 430p for the first time since the end of March.

On Toronto’s stock exchange, Centerra Gold was down 6.3% to C$6.63, its lowest since the March.

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(News report from Issue No. 336, published on July 16 2017)

EBRD loans gold project in Kazakhstan

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JUNE 22 2017 (The Bulletin) — The EBRD agreed a loan of $140m for Bakyrchik Mining Venture, a subsidiary of London-listed Polymetal International, to develop the Kyzyl gold deposit in Kazakhstan. The EBRD said that the loan would create 400 jobs and ensure good governance over the project. Previous mining projects in Kazakhstan have been plagued by governance issues.

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(News report from Issue No. 334, published on June 26 2017)

Stock market: Georgia Healthcare, KAZ minerals

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JUNE 19 2017 (The Bulletin) — It was a poor week for stocks in companies linked to Central Asia and the South Caucasus. All stocks were either stagnant or fell, with the notably exception of Georgia Healthcare, which is perhaps the standout performer of the year.

By the end of the week, Georgia Healthcare stock had risen by 12% to 394.5p, smashing past its previous all-time high of 373p hit in February.

As for the fallers, the heaviest tumbles were taken by KAZ Minerals and Centerra Gold. KAZ Minerals, the Kazakhstan focused copper producer, fell 11.4% to 471.5p. This, although it looks bad, was merely a correction to return to trading at a level it has been anchored around for the past month.

Centerra Gold’s shares are volatile. The Canada-based miner whose main asset is the Kumtor gold mine in eastern Kyrgyzstan is locked in a near permanent dogfight with the Kyrgyz government for control of its asset. This week, though, traders said that short-selling had knocked the value of its shares. It finished the week at C$6.72, a fall of over 8%, and its lowest level since the start of March.

Other notably fallers include Nostrum Oil & Gas, which lost around 4.7% of its stock price, more than the fall in oil, and TBC Bank, a Georgian bank, which also shed around 5% of its value, possibly because inflation data remained stubbornly high.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Uzbekistan constructs lead plant

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JUNE 11 2017 (The Bulletin) — Uzbekistan has started construction of a $90m lead producing plant near Tashkent. The plant will have a production capacity of 30,000 tonnes of lead per year. Importantly it will provide jobs, something that Pres. Shavkat Mirziyoyev has said is a priority. The lead plant, though, was actually commissioned in May 2016, under the presidency of Islam Karimov.

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(News report from Issue No. 333, published on June 19 2017)

Stock Market: Central Asia Metals

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JUNE 12 2017 (The Bulletin) — Shares in Central Asia Metals (CAM), the Kazakhstan focused miner, stayed steady this week on the London Stock Exchange despite some early calls by stock analysts to buy into it.

At the end of the week it was trading at 220p, roughly the level it has been anchored to since the start of May.

Still, some analysts said that now was a good time to buy into CAM. Peel Hunt has a target price of 290p against CAM, up from 270p. Canaccord Genuity also gives the stock a buy rating.

Across the Caspian Sea, Bank of Georgia, has also been given a lift by analysts. Investec raised its target price for Bank of Georgia to 4,000p from 3,950p. Several other brokerages moved their guidance to a ‘buy’ rating too.

Last month it issued the first ever corporate debt in Georgian lari, attracting widespread publicity. The IFC, part of the World Bank, said that it would step into support the lari issues, agreeing to buy up to a third of the $250m bond sale. Reports said that 20 other institutional investors had applied to buy a total of $207m of the bond, meaning the the IFC ended up with a smaller stake than it had offered.

Kaha Kiknavelidze, Bank of Georgia CEO, said: “IFC’s bid gave us great support in building investor confidence and creating early momentum in book build.”

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(News report from Issue No. 332, published on June 12 2017)