Reuters reported that Australian company Great Western Exploration Limited has agreed to explore a prospective copper field in Kazakhstan and plans a JV with Kazakh state miner TauKen Samruk to develop the deposit.

Great Western Exploration said that it would fund exploration of the Spasskaya copper field through to a bankable feasibility study in order to earn its 50 percent interest in the JV.

Kazakhstan, a former Soviet republic five times the size of France is the largest uranium miner in the world and holds 3% of the world's recoverable oil reserves as well as large deposits of copper, zinc and other industrial metals.

Mr Jordan Luckett MD for Great Western Exploration said that "Although Kazakhstan has a long history in mining it still remains one of the most under explored countries for minerals in the world."

Great Western Exploration said that it was targeting between 750,000 and 2 million tonnes of copper with grades of between 0.6% and 1.68% of contained copper metal based on historical inventories. But the company said historical drilling results would not be used to determine resources compliant with the Joint Ore Reserves Committee.

It said that it expected to repeat much of the exploration drilling completed by Soviet geologists adding that the region had exploration upside and the possibility for new discoveries of copper, gold, silver and zinc.

Great Western Exploration said payment would be deferred and calculated using a formula based on measured and indicated resources, copper price and recovery as defined in the bankable feasibility study.

(Sourced from Reuters)