At the SASA mine, there was a slight decrease in zinc recovery level to 86.7% in 2Q2019 against 86.8% in 1Q2019, while the level of lead recovery level increased up to 94.7% in 2Q2019 against 94.0% in 1Q2019.
Our opinion:
Production figures of the Company for 1H2019 meet our expectations. The SASA mine shows stable production figures, where a slight decrease in zinc recovery and an increase in lead recovery do not have a significant impact on the production forecast.
The efficient transition of production from the eastern Kounrad dumps to the western dumps is a key factor for the Company's stable operations in Kazakhstan. According to the recent data, the transition of production takes place according to the plan. We maintain our Buy recommendation with 12M TP 270 GBp/share.