KHUJAND, march 15, 2010, Asia-Plus  -- Shareholders of open joint-stock company (OJSC), The Adrasman Ore Refinery,  which is operated by joint-stock company, Konimansur (Kazakhstan), have decided to launch modernization of the ore refinery this month, Asia-Plus has learned from the Adrasman director general Barot Karimov.

According to him, the estimated budget for modernization of the enterprise is 5-7 million U.S. dollars.  “Modernization will allow doubling ore output -- from 400,000 tons to 700,000-1.2 million tons per year,” Karimov said, noting that modernization of concentrating mills will allow doubling the lead-silver concentrate output.  Over the first two months of this year, the Adrasman ore refinery has produced 800 tons of the lead-silver concentrate.  

600 people now work for the Adrasman ore refinery at an average monthly wage of 718 somoni, the director general added.

Established in 1967, the Adrasman ore refinery is engaged in mining and processing of lead ore for producing the lead-silver concentrate.  The plant’s rated capacity is more than 650,000 tons of ore a year.

The ore refinery was purchased by Kazakhstan’s KazInvest-Mineral in July 2006 for 11 million somoni.  Under an agreement concluded between KazInvest-Mineral, which assumed the 100 percent ownership interest in the or refinery, and Kazakh company North Time last year, 74 percent of shares in the ore refinery were transferred to North Time.