REG - Central Asia Metals - H1 2025 Operations Update
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RNS Number : 4472Q Central Asia Metals PLC 10 July 2025
10 July 2025
Central Asia Metals PLC
(the 'Group', the 'Company' or 'CAML')
H1 2025 Operations Update
Central Asia Metals plc (AIM: CAML) provides its H1 2025 operations update for
the Kounrad dump-leach, solvent extraction-electrowinning (SX-EW) copper
recovery plant in Kazakhstan and the Sasa zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia.
H1 2025 operational summary
- Zero lost time injuries (LTIs) at Kounrad and Sasa
- Kounrad copper production of 6,218 tonnes
- Sasa zinc-in-concentrate production of 8,692 tonnes
- Sasa lead-in-concentrate production of 12,613 tonnes
- Sasa Capital Projects:
o Dry Stack Tailings (DST) Plant operational
o transition to paste-fill mining continues
- Phase 2B exploration drilling commenced at 28.4%-owned Aberdeen
Minerals' Arthrath base-metals project in Scotland
Group cash
- Net cash at 30 June 2025 of $42.9 million
Outlook
- DST Plant at Sasa ramping up to full capacity
- Production guidance for FY2025:
o copper of 13,000 to 14,000 tonnes reiterated
o zinc-in-concentrate revised to 17,000 to 19,000 tonnes
o lead-in-concentrate revised to 25,000 to 27,000 tonnes
- Phase 2B drilling programme at Arthrath, comprising five holes for
a total of 2,400 metres, to be completed in Q3 2025
- Results from magnetic and soil geochemical surveys at the two most
advanced licences held by CAML Exploration (CAML X) in Kazakhstan expected in
Q3 2025
CAML production summary
Metal production (tonnes) (tonnes) Q2 2025 Q2 2024 H1 2025 H1 2024
Copper 3,365 3,488 6,218 6,608
Zinc 4,088 4,272 8,692 9,014
Lead 6,005 6,343 12,613 12,872
Gavin Ferrar, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
"Kounrad delivered another quarter of safe and reliable copper production in
Q2 2025, with H1 2025 output in line with our guidance for the year.
"At Sasa, the transition to new methods for mining and tailings disposal
continued, with Q2 2025 being the first full quarter of filter-cake deposition
on the DST landform. Encouragingly, the ore tonnage mined recovered well in H1
2025, up approximately 8% compared with the corresponding period last year,
and this progress was made without any LTIs.
"However, maintaining head grades has proved challenging owing to the
variability in orebody geometry as we mine deeper. This was anticipated and
indeed was a key reason behind the change to more flexible mining methods. We
expect head grades to improve as the proportion of mining by the new methods
continues to increase during H2 2025, but we believe it is prudent to revise
Sasa's FY2025 production guidance at this stage."
Health and Safety
Neither Kounrad nor Sasa had an LTI during H1 2025, and at 30 June had
achieved 2,601 days and 192 days LTI free, respectively.
Kounrad
Kounrad's Q2 2025 copper production was 3,365 tonnes, bringing the total for
H1 2025 to 6,218 tonnes. Copper sales during H1 2025 were 5,744 tonnes,
resulting in a minor increase in stock which is expected to be shipped in Q3
2025.
H1 2025 production was in line with the planned budget, with the dump leach
parameters operating according to schedule. During Q2 2025, all the anodes and
cathodes within the EW2 electrowinning section were replaced. Relocation of
Dump 15 side-slope materials continued as scheduled, to allow space for the
interceptor trench in this area of the operation.
Sasa
Production and sales update
Sasa produces a zinc concentrate and a separate lead concentrate, and
typically receives from smelters approximately 84% of the value of its
zinc-in-concentrate and around 95% of the value of its lead-in-concentrate.
Accordingly, Q2 2025 payable production was 3,438 tonnes of zinc and 5,705
tonnes of lead, bringing the H1 totals to 7,308 tonnes and 11,982 tonnes,
respectively.
Payable base-metal-in-concentrate sales for H1 2025 were 7,338 tonnes of zinc
and 12,165 tonnes of lead, broadly in line with production.
During H1 2025, Sasa sold 199,482 ounces of payable silver to Osisko Gold
Royalties, in accordance with its streaming agreement.
Units Q2 2025 Q2 2024 H1 2025 H1 2024
Ore mined t 197,653 181,525 394,156 365,652
Plant feed t 195,323 183,996 393,325 368,075
Zinc grade % 2.49 2.73 2.59 2.86
Zinc recovery % 83.9 85.0 85.4 85.5
Lead grade % 3.28 3.66 3.40 3.70
Lead recovery % 93.8 94.2 94.4 94.4
Zinc concentrate t (dry) 8,124 8,419 17,299 17,913
- Grade % 50.3 50.8 50.2 50.3
- Contained zinc t 4,088 4,272 8,692 9,014
Lead concentrate t (dry) 8,519 9,009 17,870 18,186
- Grade % 70.5 70.4 70.6 70.8
- Contained lead t 6,005 6,343 12,613 12,872
Dry-stack tailings
The DST Plant was operational in Q2 2025, and by the end of June over 68,000
tonnes of dry tailings had been filtered for placing on the initial landform.
Expansion of the landform will continue over the rest of 2025.
The combination of DST operations and the use of paste backfill in mining
meant that during Q2 2025 just over 60% of Sasa's tailings were stored using
these two more environmentally responsible methods, a significant step towards
CAML's target of 70% to be reached by 2026.
Exploration activity
During Q2 2025, Aberdeen Minerals, in which CAML has a 28.4% shareholding with
warrants to increase to 37.6%, commenced the 2025 drilling campaign at its
Arthrath nickel-copper-cobalt project in northeast Scotland. This element of
the exploration programme (Phase 2B) comprises five holes for a planned total
of 2,400 metres, and is expected to be completed in August with results to
follow thereafter. Core samples will be recovered from vertical depths of up
to 400 metres.
CAML X, an 80%-owned subsidiary of CAML, continued work on its four active
exploration licences in Kazakhstan. Magnetic and soil geochemical surveys were
completed on the two most advanced licences during Q2 2025, with the results
expected in Q3 2025. Geophysical and geochemical programmes are scheduled to
commence on the other two licences later this month. CAML X hopes to generate
one to three drill targets on each licence for the forthcoming winter drilling
season.
Group cash and debt position
At 30 June 2025, CAML had cash in the bank of $49.5 million, including $6.6
million drawn under Group overdraft facilities. Apart from normal cash
outgoings in H1, the balance was negatively affected by payments for shares in
New World Resources Ltd, the timing of copper cathode sales at Kounrad and by
the decision to prepay certain routine taxes in Kazakhstan that will be
incurred in H2.
Transaction update
On 7 July, CAML announced a revised structure for its proposed takeover offer
for New World Resources Ltd (ASX: NWC) ('NWR'). Under the revised structure,
CAML will offer to acquire all of the ordinary shares in NWR that it does not
already own via an NWR board-recommended off-market takeover bid under Chapter
6 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) at A$0.062 per NWR share ('CAML Offer'),
valuing NWR at approximately A$230 million. CAML has also agreed to provide,
subject to various conditions, a US$6.5 million unsecured loan facility to
NWR. CAML expects to despatch its Bidder's Statement and for the CAML Offer to
be open for acceptances by mid-July.
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
Regulation 596/2014.
For further information contact:
Central Asia Metals Tel: +44 (0) 20 7898 9001
Gavin Ferrar
CEO
Louise Wrathall
CFO
Richard Morgan richard.morgan@centralasiametals.com
Investor Relations Manager
Peel Hunt (Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 8900
Ross Allister
David McKeown
Emily Bhasin
BMO Capital Markets (Joint Broker) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1010
Thomas Rider
Pascal Lussier Duquette
BlytheRay (PR Advisers) Tel: +44 (0) 20 7138 3204
Tim Blythe CentralAsiaMetals@BlytheRay.com
Megan Ray
Note to editors:
Central Asia Metals, an AIM-quoted UK company based in London, owns 100% of
the Kounrad SX-EW copper operation in central Kazakhstan and 100% of the Sasa
zinc-lead mine in North Macedonia. The Company also owns an 80% interest in
CAML Exploration, a subsidiary formed to progress early-stage exploration
opportunities in Kazakhstan, and a 28.4% interest in Aberdeen Minerals Ltd, a
privately-owned UK company focused on the exploration and development of base
metals opportunities in northeast Scotland.
For further information, please visit www.centralasiametals.com and follow
CAML on X at @CamlMetals and on LinkedIn at Central Asia Metals Plc
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