Trading Statement

KazakhGold Group Ltd 30 January 2008 KAZAKHGOLD GROUP LIMITED 1st FLOOR, 105 PICCADILLY, LONDON W1J 7NJ, UNITED KINGDOM Website: www.kazakhgold.com 30th JANUARY 2008 2007 TRADING STATEMENT KazakhGold Group Limited (KZG or the Group) issues this statement as an unaudited update on 2007 trading and in advance of its full year results announcement. Business Highlights • 2007 gold production of 236,142 ounces (2006: 218,164 ounces), slightly above forecast • Average gold price received US$700 per ounce, 25% higher than in 2006 • Preliminary JORC reclassification assessment confirms a world class asset base • Drilling programmes carried out for resource and reserve estimation purposes • Exploration of margins of known mineralised zones, definition of new mineralised zones • Production expansion projects well under way at all three principal mines • New secondary milling circuit started at Aksu • Acquisition of assets from Oxus Gold plc - Jerooy plant equipment, balance of Romaltyn in Romania and Turkish gold-copper projects • Plant refurbishment and modifications ongoing at Romaltyn • JPMorgan Cazenove appointed as joint broker and financial advisor • Highly experienced international senior management team recruited Production Results Summary for KazakhGold • Tonnes treated 3,483,506 tonnes • Average Head Grade 1.95 g/t gold • Gold production* 7,345 kilograms (236,142 ounces) * includes gold received for high grade ore sales Chairman's Statement Commenting on the trading statement update, Dr Kanat Assaubayev said: '2007 was an exciting and busy year for KazakhGold as we continued to consolidate our position as one of the leading gold producers in the Central Asian region. Gold production increased marginally year on year as we began implementing our growth strategy to become a one million ounce producer. Production expansion projects have been initiated at all our principal mines in Kazakhstan and we expect to see the first benefits coming through in 2008. The average gold price received during the year was US$700 per ounce, a 25% increase from last year. As an unhedged producer we are able to fully benefit from the current high price environment, which continues to look promising for 2008. To complement our Kazakh assets, and broaden the group's geographic diversification, we acquired the Oxus Gold non-Uzbek assets, which strengthens our position in Romania and importantly gives us a presence in two emerging gold regions, Turkey and Kygyrstan. Kazakhgold currently owns 100% of Romaltyn in Romania which is the most advanced of these projects. At a corporate level, we have instituted a number of changes at both Board and senior management level, including the recruitment of a number of highly experienced international managers, to underpin our focus on growing production and ensure we have the necessary expertise base to deliver this target. We have also appointed JPMorgan Cazenove to advise us on a potential move from our current GDR listing to the Main Market of the London Stock Exchange, which we believe would further enhance shareholder value. In conclusion, I believe the outlook for the group is positive. The focus for 2008 is on four key areas: growing our reserves through exploration, reclassification of the group's resource base into JORC, modernising our mining methods and optimising our processing technologies to increase ore extraction and active participation in the consolidation of the region's gold assets in order to ultimately grow production.' Operations & Production Aksu & Quartzite Hills Exploration & Geology: Open pit geological mapping and sampling was carried out to define ore zones to verify drilling profiles. 52 air drill holes with a total of 1,050 metres, and 86 core drill holes with a total of 29,740 metres were drilled at three locations at Aksu. Core drilling was carried out by the Group's exploration department and a Kazakh contract drilling company. Additional exploration down-the-hole (DTH) drilling amounted to 18,000 metres for the year. Based on the surface drilling exploration results at the Karyernaya zone of Aksu, a report was submitted to the State Committee of Reserves (GKZ) showing the work carried out and the resulting resource/reserve calculations. The drill programme to evaluate the 'Vera' zone is ongoing. Contract metallurgical testwork is ongoing on samples from the Aksu tailings facility. Underground Mining: Skip hoisting was installed and commissioned at the No.40 shaft allowing an increase in underground production with mining grades achieved as planned. Surface refurbishment on the shaft infrastructure has been completed including the installation of the shaft heating system. Work is progressing on upgrading of underground infrastructure and equipment. Refurbishment of two further underground operations (Quartzite Hills and Vera Zone) that are due to come into production during 2008 is progressing according to plan. This will ultimately increase the quantity of higher grade ore to be fed to the plant. Open Pit Mining: Mining during the winter months has continued despite the extreme winter temperatures encountered. Processing: Aksu CIP Plant Tonnes Treated 429,344 tonnes Head Grade 2.73 g/t gold Recovery rate 68.6% Gold production* 2,298 kilograms (73,867 ounces) * includes gold received for high grade ore sales Operations at the Aksu plant have been the focus of investigations during the year to optimize the existing equipment to its maximum potential. Construction of a new secondary grinding circuit was started at the end of the year. Incorporation of two new mills is complete. Plant management is currently in the process of optimizing the new milling units. The new oxygen plant (for increased recovery) is on site ready to be installed into the building. Permitting issues have delayed the construction of the oxygen building but work has progressed well since this issue was resolved. Heap Leach: Aksu heap leach Tonnes Treated 1,116,410 tonnes Head Grade 1.35 g/t gold Recovery rate 54.2% Gold production 819 kilograms (26,337 ounces) The crush size of the material stacked on the heap leach pads was reduced to improve the recovery. During the second half of the year the recovery increased to the targeted 60% although a reduction in the throughput resulted. This will be investigated during 2008. Bestobe Exploration & Geology: Surface drilling comprised 38 core drill holes with a total of 5,098 metres at the Central Zone at Bestobe utilising a Kazakh drilling contractor. This programme targeted expansion of the existing open pit areas. In addition to the core drilling DTH drilling was carried out to define the pit expansion limits. A total of 9,218 metres of drilling was carried for this work. On the recommendation of GKZ, further drilling and trenching was carried out on the Bestobe tailings area, following which a contractor carried out metallurgical studies the results of which have been resubmitted to GKZ. Underground drilling amounted to 113m. Trenching at Bestobe amounted to 4,719 cubic metres. Underground Mining: Production tonnages have shown a steady improvement over the last half of 2007, with the mining grades generally better than planned. Refurbishment of the surface infrastructure has progressed well with the majority of surface refurbishment at West shaft being completed. Heating of the shafts and vent shaft refurbishment is still to be carried out. Mining is due to start on the Dalnaya orebody during H2 2008. Conversion to skip hoisting at 'Novaya shaft' will be investigated during 2008 to allow for the increased underground production in 2009. Open Pit Mining: A steady improvement of production tonnes has been seen in the 3rd quarter, with the 4th quarter being affected by the extreme winter climate and equipment breakdowns. Processing: Bestobe Tonnes Treated 94,224 tonnes Head Grade 6.01 g/t gold Recovery rate 86.1% Gold production* 1,653 kilograms (53,134 ounces) * includes gold received for high grade ore sales Throughput at Bestobe plant improved over the second half of the year although the operational availability was limited due to the mechanical breakdown of equipment and delays in spares availability. Recovery rates will improve with the introduction of new equipment in 2008. The construction of a new mill on the Bestobe site coupled with a new efficient gravity concentration circuit has started. Construction of the mill foundations was nearing completion at year end. The detailed design of the second new mill is underway and orders for this mill and equipment will be initiated in the next few months. Construction of the new CIP plant, to treat the tailings produced from the flotation plant, has started. Site establishment and bulk earthworks have been completed and the equipping of a fabrication shop is nearing completion to allow assembly works to continue throughout the winter period. Heap Leach: Bestobe heap leach Tonnes Treated 1,452,945 tonnes Head Grade 1.54 g/t gold Recovery rate 44.8% Gold production* 1,331 kilograms (42,788 ounces) * includes gold received for high grade ore sales The gold recovered from this operation was on target: however, work will be intensified to improve recovery. Currently, the size of the material being stacked is larger than optimum to allow additional tonnes to be processed. This will be rectified once additional crushing capacity has been installed. Operations at Bestobe heap leach have continued since the onset of winter. The flow sheet has been modified to screen out the fine material and to enable a closely sized ore without requiring cement addition and agglomeration. The fine material that is produced will be processed on the stack once the temperatures allow a return to agglomeration. The second crushing plant, which will be installed to further increase production, is planned to be transported to the Bestobe site early in 2008. Improvements to the solution heating system have been introduced to maximize the gold recovery during the winter months. Zholymbet Exploration & Geology: Significant amount of trenching was carried out to better define the known zones of mineralisation as well as extend the known zones along strike. A total of 13,470 cubic metres of trenching was completed. This will allow the planning of future drilling programmes. It was on this basis that the Group decided to investigate the utilisation of a drill contractor with reverse circulation (RC) capability for its future drilling programme. Underground mining: Zholymbet has achieved its mining production targets consistently well throughout the year, with the tonnes produced slightly lower than planned but the mined grades generally above plan. Refurbishment of the surface and underground infrastructure and equipment has been ongoing with new trackless equipment scheduled for 2008 to allow for the opening up of additional ore reserves in the Diorite Zone. Open Pit Mining: The open pit mining operations have been continued throughout the year to complement the plant operational capability. Processing: Zholymbet CIP plant Tonnes treated 390,582 tonnes Head Grade 3.44 g/t gold Recovery rate 70.2% Gold production* 1,245kilograms (40,016 ounces) * includes gold received for high grade ore sales Construction of a new secondary grinding circuit is almost complete with only the classification circuit and instrumentation outstanding. The oxygen generation equipment is on site to introduce oxygen via the shear reactors into the leach/CIP circuit. The construction of the building to house this equipment was delayed due to permitting but is now in the final stages of construction. The plant will be operational early in 2008. As with Bestobe, the construction of the new CIP plant to treat the tailings produced from the flotation plant has started. Site establishment and bulk earthworks have been completed. The equipping of a fabrication shop is nearing completion to allow assembly works to continue throughout the winter period. East Kazakhstan Exploration & Geology: Geological work focused on the Akzhal deposit last year, with the completion of 641 metres of air drilling and some 1,983 cubic metres of trenching. Heap Leach: Dry commissioning of the Akzhal crusher plant is complete and stacking started at the end of the year. Due to winter conditions irrigation of the stacked ore has not yet begun but will commence once the temperatures on site are suitable. The absorption plant construction is progressing on schedule. Romania Exploration & Geology: Romaltyn Exploration carried out exploration works on both Romaltyn Exploration and Romaltyn Mining tenements located north of Baia Mare in Northern Romania. Work for the year on the Romaltyn Exploration tenements included 6.8km2 of reconnaissance mapping, including 3km2 of surveying, and collection of 30 reconnaissance samples for analysis, and 485 further geochemical samples. Follow-up trenching amounted to 244 linear metres, from which 212 samples were taken. Technical geological reporting was made for each tenement. Work for the year on the Romaltyn Mining tenements included 2.0km2 of reconnaissance mapping, and collection of 21 reconnaissance samples for analysis, and 424 further geochemical samples. Trenching amounted to 81 linear metres, from which 56 samples were taken. Core drilling was carried out at the June11 property within a Romaltyn Mining tenement. Some 2.2km of road access and 23 drill holes were completed with a total of 3,382 metres drilled. Technical geological and environmental reporting was made for each tenement. Processing Plant: The design and construction of the slurry and decant water cyanide detoxification plants is complete and the refurbishment of the plant ongoing. Exploration & Development Reserves and Resources A full update on the Group's reserves and resources statement will be published at the same time as its Annual Report. During the year, assessment of the available historical data was made, and data entry of the Soviet and Kazakh geological exploration data progressed well. It has been decided that the Group will utilise the SURPAC computer programme for 3D modelling of its gold deposits. Phase 1 training on the software is complete, and 4 licences have been purchased. This will allow the 3D modelling to be completed and the subsequent resource estimation and reserve calculation to be carried out to JORC requirements. The data entry department also carried out significant work on the preparation of reports for GKZ submissions in 2007. Assay laboratories Given the increase in sampling from geology and grade control, there is a requirement to upgrade the Group's laboratory facilities. During the year, a site visit was carried out by Alex Stuart Assayers Limited to assess the Group's laboratory facilities with a view to upgrading the existing infrastructure and constructing a new central exploration assay facility. Quotations have been compiled for carrying out this work and a proposal for Alex Stuart Assayers to manage and supervise the Group's laboratories has been received. This work will be carried out during 2008, in order to manage the increase of samples generated. Drilling The Group has placed orders for three new underground exploration core drilling machines, plus four shorthole core drilling machines to enhance the underground grade control and short term mine planning. Drilling contractors have also been on site to assess the drilling conditions as the Group plans to utilise the services of contract drillers to carry out a significant drilling programme planned to start during 2008. This work will include surface reverse circulation (RC) drilling, auger drilling and both surface and underground core drilling. Corporate Update During the period we took the opportunity to acquire from Oxus Gold plc, its 50 per cent shareholding in Romaltyn Limited. In addition we acquired 100 per cent of Norox Mining Company Limited, which owns 66.67 per cent of the Talas Gold Mining Company in Kyrgyzstan. We also acquired the right to an option relating to the Karakilise copper deposit licence in Turkey, from a subsidiary of Oxus Gold plc. As previously announced, the Board was reorganized during the first half of 2007, in part to reflect the need for the Chairman's role to include significant executive duties in Kazakhstan. As a result, Kanat Assaubayev became Executive Chairman of the Group. During the period Darryl Norton joined our Board, from Oxus Gold plc, as Chief Operating Officer. In our operations, Dr Stephen Westhead, Mr Geoff McLoughlin and Mr Robert Hewitt were appointed as Group Chief Geologist, Group Chief Metallurgist and Chief Mining Engineer respectively. We have made eight further senior management appointments to positions responsible for operations, geology and capital projects during 2007. We now have a strong international management team, based at our operational headquarters in Stepnogorsk. During the period the Group appointed JPMorgan Cazenove as joint broker and financial advisor for its potential move to the Main Board of London Stock Exchange and participation in the gold assets consolidation process in the region. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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