Central Asia Metals reports 'good start' to 2024

(Sharecast News) - Central Asia Metals updated the market on operations in its first quarter on Tuesday, at the Kounrad copper recovery plant in Kazakhstan and the Sasa zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia. The AIM-traded firm said that during the quarter, it achieved zero lost time injuries (LTIs) at both the Kounrad and Sasa operations.

At the Kounrad plant, copper production reached 3,120 tonnes, while at the Sasa mine, zinc in concentrate production amounted to 4,741 tonnes, with lead in concentrate production totaling 6,529 tonnes.

Looking to the full 2024 year, Central Asia Metals projected copper production between 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes.

Additionally, it said it expected zinc in concentrate production to range from 19,000 to 21,000 tonnes, and lead in concentrate production to be between 27,000 and 29,000 tonnes.

"We have had a good start to 2024 with no lost-time injuries and a solid first quarter of production at both sites despite some challenging winter weather conditions and the continued construction activity on site at Sasa," said chief executive officer Nigel Robinson.

"We have made significant progress towards the completion of the infrastructure required to transition to paste fill mining and remain on track for completion during the second half of 2024."

Robinson said that, once construction activity was complete, it would enable the site team to focus on the operational management of the transition to paste fill mining, which would facilitate the higher levels of production planned for the second half of the year.

"During the quarter, we were pleased to have been able to announce our intention to invest up to £5m in Scottish copper and nickel explorer, Aberdeen Minerals."

At 1134 BST, shares in Central Asia Metals were down 0.25% at 202.5p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.