REG - Central Asia Metals - Q1 2022 Operations Update

Central Asia MetalsAnnouncement

07/04/2022 07:00

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RNS Number : 5366H  Central Asia Metals PLC  07 April 2022

7 April 2022

 

CENTRAL ASIA METALS PLC

('CAML' or the 'Company')

Q1 2022 Operations Update

Central Asia Metals plc (AIM: CAML) today provides a Q1 2022 operations update
for the Kounrad dump leach, solvent extraction and electro-winning ('SX-EW')
copper recovery plant in Kazakhstan ('Kounrad') and the Sasa zinc-lead mine in
North Macedonia ('Sasa').

Summary

-      Zero lost time injuries ('LTI') at Kounrad

-      One LTI at Sasa

-      Kounrad copper production, 3,024 tonnes

-      Sasa zinc in concentrate production, 5,240 tonnes

-      Sasa lead in concentrate production, 6,736 tonnes

 

Outlook

-      Full year 2022 guidance

o  Copper, 12,500 to 13,500 tonnes

o  Zinc in concentrate, 20,000 to 22,000 tonnes

o  Lead in concentrate, 27,000 to 29,000 tonnes

 

CAML production summary

 Metal production (tonnes)  Q1 2022  Q1 2021
 Copper                     3,024    2,880
 Zinc                       5,240    5,742
 Lead                       6,736    7,016

 

Nigel Robinson, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"We have had a strong Q1 2022 and we are on track to meet our full year
production guidance at both Kounrad and Sasa."

Health and Safety

In Q1 2022, there were no LTIs at Kounrad and one LTI at Sasa.

Kounrad

Kounrad Q1 2022 copper production was 3,024 tonnes and copper sales during Q1
2022 were 2,906 tonnes.

Sasa

In Q1 2022, mined and processed ore were 197,501 tonnes and 197,986 tonnes
respectively. The average head grades for the period were 3.14% zinc and 3.65%
lead. Q1 2022 metallurgical recoveries were 84.3% for zinc and 93.3% for
lead.

Sasa produces a zinc concentrate and a separate lead concentrate. In Q1 2022,
10,519 tonnes of concentrate containing 49.81% zinc and 9,488 tonnes of
concentrate containing 70.99% lead were produced.

Sasa typically receives from smelters approximately 84% of the value of its
zinc in concentrate and approximately 95% of the value of its lead in
concentrate. Accordingly, Q1 2022 payable production was 4,398 tonnes of zinc
and 6,399 tonnes of lead. Given that deliveries from Sasa to the smelters
occur on a regular basis, payable base metal in concentrate sales for the
quarter were similar at 4,409 tonnes of zinc and 6,314 tonnes of lead.

During Q1 2022, Sasa sold 74,795 ounces of payable silver to Osisko Gold
Royalties, in accordance with its streaming agreement.

                             Units    Q1 2022  Q1 2021
 Ore mined                   t        197,501  207,704
 Plant feed                  t        197,986  210,413
 Zinc grade                  %        3.14     3.23
 Zinc recovery               %        84.3     84.5
 Lead grade                  %        3.65     3.57
 Lead recovery               %        93.3     93.5
 Zinc concentrate            t (dry)  10,519   11,521
 -      Grade                %        49.8     49.8
 -      Contained zinc       t        5,240    5,742
 Lead concentrate            t (dry)  9,488    9,730
 -      Grade                %        71.0     72.1
 -      Contained lead       t        6,736    7,016

 

 

For further information contact:

 Central Asia Metals                               Tel: +44 (0) 20 7898 9001
 Nigel Robinson, CEO
 Gavin Ferrar, CFO
 Louise Wrathall, Director of Corporate Relations  louise.wrathall@centralasiametals.com

 Peel Hunt (Nominated Advisor and Joint Broker)    Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
 Ross Allister
 David McKeown

 BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker)                Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1010
 Thomas Rider
 Pascal Lussier Duquette

 BlytheRay (PR Advisors)                           Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
 Tim Blythe
 Megan Ray
 Rachael Brooks

Note to editors:

 

Central Asia Metals, an AIM-listed UK company based in London, owns 100% of
the Kounrad SX-EW copper project in central Kazakhstan and 100% of the Sasa
zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia.

For further information, please visit www.centralasiametals.com
(http://www.centralasiametals.com/)  and follow CAML on Twitter at
@CamlMetals and on LinkedIn at Central Asia Metals Plc

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