Reuters reported that Kazakh mining group ENRC reported a drop in 2011 output from its key ferroalloys and iron ore divisions after unscheduled repairs at both units in the Q4.

The London listed miner said that production of most ferroalloys dropped in the quarter with the division operating below full capacity after it was forced to do emergency maintenance work on a furnace in December. That took total saleable output down 10% to 360,000 tonnes in the Q4 and 2011 production down 2.9%.

ENRC said that the 82,500 tonne furnace now back online would be operating marginally below full capacity in 2012 but would not significantly affect full year output numbers.

The miner was also hit by crusher and railway issues in its iron ore division. Primary concentrate production was down 3.8% but flat over the full year, while saleable production fell 6.6% in the quarter and 5% over the year to 16 million tonnes.

Mr Felix Vulis CEO of ENRC said that although numbers for the year slightly less than we anticipated, we are back to full capacity and demand is there. He was confident both divisions would remain at full capacity and would not dent production numbers for the current year. He did not expect the dip in output to affect the group's financial results, due to be released next month.

ENRC said recently that prices of ferrochrome one of its key commodities, where it benefits from low cost production compared to South African based competitors are near a bottom, weighed down by negative market sentiment and excess supply. The benchmark price settled at USD 1.15 per pound this quarter down from the previous 3 months but Mr Vulis said he saw an improvement.

ENRC's production outside its core commodities fared better, with ENRC reporting higher copper, cobalt and aluminum production levels. Copper production, a key plank of ENRC's strategy as it grows rose over 46% to 29,609 tonnes boosted by an almost 62% rise in saleable copper output over the fourth quarter.

(Sourced from Reuters)