LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ.LN) has enough capacity to process all of its copper concentrate when the planned Bozshakol mine starts production in 2014, the company's head of investor relations John Smelt said Thursday.

"With one suspended furnace, the current smelting capacity matches the group's own concentrate production and is operating at full capacity," the company said in a statement.

"In the medium term, the group will require a return of all furnaces in order to match the output from the new growth projects," it added.

Smelt said all the furnaces should have restarted by the time the $1.5 billion to $2 billion Bozshakol produces its first ore, since current maintenance on a furnace should be completed by then.

The U.K.-listed Kazakh mining company refurbished one of two Zhezkazgan furnaces at the end of May 2010 and had both furnaces running in June. In early July, the second furnace was suspended to carry out a full maintenance program.

At the moment, the company can afford to have one of its furnaces suspended, Smelt said. "We have much more smelting than we can mine," he noted. Shutting down one furnace allows the company to match capacity to production levels, he added.

The company is able to mine and process about 300,000 metric tons of ore annually and has a smelting capacity of 450,000 tons of copper cathode, Smelt said.

The Bozshakol mine is forecast to process around 25 million tons of ore a year.

Company Website: www.kazakhmys.com

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