Frontier Mining Targets $1 Billion Market Value on Kazakh Copper

Frontier Mining is targeting crusher in gold minesan eight-fold increase in its market capitalization to $1 billion by 2014 after the U.K. explorer starts copper production in Kazakhstan later this year.

Frontier is seeking to become the second-biggest copper producer in Kazakhstan after Kazakhmys, Chief Executive Officer Erlan Sagadiev said yesterday in an interview in London. Production is slated to begin by June and reach as much as 5,000 metric tons of copper this year before ramping up to 20,000 tons in 2014, he said. “We’ll then generate about $160 million of turnover and should be valued at north of $1 billion,” Sagadiev said. The company is currently valued at 84 million pounds. Copper prices have climbed 11 percent this year to $8,437 a ton on the London Metal Exchange on increased demand from Asia. At the same time, strikes and slower-than-expected...