London-based base metals exploration and development company Orsu Metals Corp plans to start commercial operations at the Karchiga copper deposit in Kazakhstan by the first quarter of 2014, the company said on Tuesday.
Orsu intends to invest about $147 million in the deposit and expects to have the copper field for development within 12-15 months. Karchiga has a service life of around 12 years.
The deposit is expected to produce 750,000 tons of ore annually, including copper output of 12,957 tons. In total, the company expects the deposit to produce 149,000 tons of copper in its life.
Orsu posted a net loss of $4.276 million in the first six months of 2012 after a $3.423 million net profit in the same period last year.
In late June, Orsu announced it would take out a loan worth up to $90 million to finance the Karchiga copper field. The loan will be arranged by Barclays Bank Plc иand UniCredit Bank Austria AG.
Orsu is run by Russian and Kazakh managers and explores and mines metals in Kazakhstan and Russia. In 2009, the company sold the Varvarinskoye gold and copper deposit in Kazakhstan to the Russian precious metals giant Polymetal.