«The decade of independence of the Republic of Kazakhstan has showen that this young Eurasian country has succeeded in overcoming consequences of the rupture of economic ties within the former Soviet Union, restored and exceeded previous volumes of non-ferrous metal production. New large companies have been formed and many social problems solved», says Vladimir Kim, the chairman of the board and president of corporation Kazakhmys.

MAJOR AREAS OF KAZAKHMYS’ ACTIVITY Production, concentration and processing of non-ferrous metal ores. Production of copper. Refining of gold and silver. Chemical production. Production of thermal and electric energy. Coal mining

    The year of 1995 is usually regarded in Kazakhstan as the start of renewed copper production and its steady growth. South Korea’s company Samsung became a strategic partner of Kazakhmys, which was formed on the basis of the scientific and production association Zhezkazgantsvetmet. South Koreans provided the corporation with a credit of over $200 million. Persistent efforts by top managers and highly skilled specialists together with all personnel of the corporation resulted in restoring copper production in the shortest possible time, in securing a stable growth of its volumes and starting technological re-equipment. Already in 1998 the credit was completely called in.

Kazakhmys means a 99.99%-pure copper

The highlight of the corporation’s development is its transformation into a vertically integrated and self-sufficient company that enjoys its own coal, electric power, concentrating facilities and three copper smelteries.
Kazakhmys was being created swiftly, purposefully and thoroughly. And its founders themselves as well as the whole environment were also being changed along the way. The huge collective of employees was switching over to Western market ideas of highly efficient competitive labor and Eastern corporate philosophy of harmonious development of production and social sphere. Having in mind world markets with their severe competition Kazakhmys was careful enough to preserve and augment traditions of social protection of workers and their families, which were established in the preceding years. At the same time the mentality of pragmatism, rationality and civic responsibility was forming deep inside the 68,000-strong collective.
Today Kazakhmys is a qualitatively new enterprise, Kazakhstan’s largest producer of copper and one of the world’s ten leaders by its production volume. Pure copper, the corporation’s principal product, is exported to Germany, Italy and China.
The corporation possesses a high production and scientific engineering potential, necessary energy and fuel resources. Kazakhmys can boast of its own automobile, railroad and air transport as well as of up-to-date information networks, technological telecommunications systems and skilled personnel. All these are components of Kazakhmys’ success.

Electrolyte shop

The corporation consolidated all enterprises of Kazakhstan’s copper industry. It includes enterprises of the Zhezkazgan region, the Balkhashsky integrated mining-and-metallurgical mill, Copper smelter and sulfuric acid mill, Zhezkentsky integrated mining-and-concentrating mill, Irtishsky and Belousovsky mines, Berezovskaya and Verkhne-Berezovskaya concentrating mills, Irtishsky copper smeltery. The corporation also comprises three high-capacity thermal electric power stations: Zhezkazganskaya, Balkhashskaya and Topar central distribution. Its coal department Borly manages the Molodezhny and Kuu-Chekinsky sections in the Karaganda region.

The corporation’s assets rose four times in comparable prices and they exceeded $900 million as of December 1, 2001. That same year Kazakhmys paid $175 million to the federal budget in taxes and dues.
The ore output increased three times and its annual volume amounts now to more than 39 million tons; the production of copper concentrate jumped three times and it currently equals to 410,000 tons a year; the volume of zinc concentrate output amounts to 100,000 tons a year; the annual generation of electric power equals to 4.8 billion kWh and 4.3 hectocalories of thermal power.
Also, new types of products have been mastered: copper rods (50,000 tons a year), gold bullions (over 5,000 kg a year), silver grains (650 tons a year). Production of cable and conductor items, drinking water and jewelry has started.
All this became possible thanks to the right choice of priority directions of the corporation’s development and net investments aimed, above all, at increasing the fixed capital. From 1995 to 2001 more than $600 million were allocated for this purpose. Under the long-term plan of Kazakhmys’ development over $100 million are to be invested annually in priority areas of activities. These areas are: development of the ore base, technical re-equipment and reconstruction of concentrating mills as well as copper smelteries. A portion of investments is set aside for developing the infrastructure and social sphere.

35% of ore are extracted at open-pit mines

The corporation’s enterprises are using the most advanced and highly efficient mining equipment; the latest technologies and unique organizational and technical solutions are applied. For example, a new chamber-and-pillar extraction system at the Zhezkazganskoye field makes it possible to solve two important problems: void forming is stopped, when mining is underway, and extraction of subsoil resources becomes more complete, so a repeated extraction is not needed.
About 35% of ore are extracted at open-pit mines. Over 60 million cubic meters of lode rock are hoisted to the surface with a help of powerful excavating machines and BelAz dump trucks.

The corporation’s concentrating mills reprocess over 43 million tons of ore annually. The Zhezkazganskaya mill is one of the largest in CIS. The copper smeltery in Zhezkazgan uses the unique technology of reprocessing a high-silicon charge that ensures a complex extraction of useful components and high quality of electrolytic copper. Today metallurgists extract 14 chemical elements that are used in making marketable products. Among them are such rare elements as rhenium and osmium. By its purity, 99.99%, electrolytic copper corresponds to the MOOK standard. The high quality of products has repeatedly won recognition at the international level.

Enameled wire plant

Kazakhmys pays an enormous attention to ecological protection. All enterprises are provided with operating water supply systems. A $46-million unique complex to utilize sulfur dioxide is being constructed at the Balkhashsky integrated mill. Much work is being done to protect land resources, to properly store and reprocess industrial waste. Just in the last three years about 150 environment protection measures costing over $65 million have been taken.
Questions of ensuring safe labor conditions at production sites are always on the minds of managers at all levels. Specific programs to prevent professional injuries and improve labor conditions have been worked out and are now being implemented at each enterprise of the corporation.
Among major directions of Kazakhmys’ development are: improving management, upgrading structures and modes of operation at main subdivisions, introducing cost accounting and import substitution, arranging maintenance of basic equipment, training personnel. All this helps the corporation win competition, reduce prime cost of products and actively invest in development of the raw materials base.
The first batch of ore has already been produced at Zhylandy and Shatyrkol, the new deposits. Construction and drifting works are underway at the Zhaman-Aybat, Artemyevskoye, Samarskoye and Yubileino-Snegirikhinskoe fields. Projects to develop copper deposits in CIS and «far-abroad» countries are being worked out. The corporation’s goal is to secure raw materials for its enterprises for 70 to 100 years.

At the metallurgical process control desk

Kazakhmys’ strategy is aimed at further transformation of the corporation into a broadly diversified company of world standards, which by its market value and basic financial and economic indicators would match leading international mining-and metallurgical firms. In the long term the corporation intends to raise volumes of production and sales of metals, to develop more efficient technological process stages, to reduce prime cost of marketable products and maintain its status as the most efficient producer in the world.

The corporate philosophy of Kazakhmys reflects its desire for a fair partnership, realization of the corporation’s responsibility to the world around and intention to provide every worker with an opportunity to develop personal abilities and interests. The corporation’s success is a result of great personal achievements by each employee and correctly guided interaction.