Copper production decreased in Kazakhstan in 2014

The latest data released by Kazakhstan's Statistics Department shows that the country's refined copper production has declined sharply year on year. In 2014, the production of refined copper in Kazakhstan amounted to 293,948 tons, which is 16.5 percent less compared to the output of 352,034 tons in 2013.

Production in December 2014 was 33,948 tons, which is 6048 tons higher than the previous month's output. According to an early report, the country's refined copper production in November 2014 was 27,900 tons, an increase of 8.8 percent over the year.

However, the cumulative output during the first eleven months of last year dropped significantly to a total of 260,000 tonnes. During this period, output fell more than 20 percent from 327,456 tonnes in the same period in 2013. Therefore, it was the good results of December that contributed to the change in the annual picture for the better.

The main producers of refined copper in Kazakhstan were KAZ Minerals and Glencore. Miners in Kazakhstan, like many other global mining companies, have also been hit by the fall in copper prices last year. KAZ Minerals shares fell by about one-fifth. Glencore shares fell more than 10 percent.

Meanwhile, in 2014, gold production in Kazakhstan increased by 14 percent year on year to 26.7 million tonnes, while crude steel production was 4.0 million tonnes, up 14 percent from 2013.