KGHM runs a high-tech geological, mining and metallurgy business. KGHM’s assets are located on three continents. The Company focuses on copper mining and copper production as well as the production of precious metals and other non-ferrous metals.
KGHM is the largest silver producer and eighth largest copper producer in the world. In addition to these two main raw materials, it also produces gold, molybdenum, nickel, rhenium, lead, and platinum. KGHM also mines rock salt, which is extracted from the level above the Polish copper and silver ore
deposits.
Copper cathodes, the end product of mines and smelters, are registered on stock exchanges in London and Shanghai, and the refined silver is certified by exchanges in London, Dubai and New York.
The shares of KGHM Polska Miedź have been listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (GPW) since July 1997. Since November 2009 the Company has been a part of the RESPECT index of socially responsible companies on the WSE.
KGHM POLSKA MIEDŹ S.A. has a diversified portfolio of geological and mining projects in various stages of development.
KGHM’s resources are currently estimated of 44.4 million tonnes of copper in situ, with proven and probable reserves of 22.7 million tonnes. Documented global mineral reserves amount to 700 million tonnes. All around the globe there are more than 1 000 known copper ore deposits, of which approximately 400 are being mined. Copper accounts for 16 per cent of the total value of all metals mined from all world deposits. The good prospects of the copper market today are determined by high demand in China and other Asian countries.
In its history, KGHM has extracted more than one billion tonnes of ore and produced 18 million tonnes of copper.
The company is licenced for the mining of Polish deposits, estimated at around 26 million tonnes of copper. They will allow ore extraction in Poland to be maintained at current levels for the next 30-40 years. KGHM strengthened its international position through foreign investments made in 2012.
The company also operates copper mines in North and South America. These include:
- Robinson (USA)
- Franke (Chile)
- Carlota (USA)
- McCreedy (Canada)
- Morrison (Canada)
- Sierra Gorda (Chile)
A special place on the map of KGHM’s overseas investments is occupied by one of the world’s largest open-pit mines: Sierra Gorda in Chile. KGHM is also developing new promising projects in Canada:
- Ajax – an open-pit copper and gold mine
- Victoria – an underground copper, nickel, and platinum mine
In 2014 work was undertaken to:
- Acquire new exploration concessions
- Document new deposit areas for their future exploitation
- Implement exploration work in concessioned areas
In its history, KGHM has extracted more than one billion tonnes of ore and produced 18 million tonnes of copper.
SIGNIFICANT EVENTS IN 2014
- Acquiring a concession for the exploration and prospecting of copper ore deposits in the Konrad area located within the immediate vicinity of the Synklina Grodziecka concession.
- Acquiring concessions for copper–silver ore exploration in the Stojanów concession. This area is an extension on Polish territory of geological structures located in the area of Weisswasser (Germany).
- Acquiring exploration concessions to search for deposits of potassium and magnesium salts in the vicinity of Puck, along with accompanying minerals: copper and silver ores, as well as rock salt.
- The Company continues to await resolution of the issue of granting concessions for the areas Bytom Odrzanski and Kulów-Luboszyce.
- Documentation work was completed in the Gaworzyce-Radwanice area. The prepared geological documentation is pending approval by the Minister of the Environment.
- Phase II of the drilling program in the Synklina Grodziecka area was completed. The Company intends to prepare joint documentation of the Synklina Grodziecka and Konrad areas.
- Geological work aimed at the exploration of the Retków-Ścinawa and Głogów concessions was started. Drilling has commenced.
- As part of work within the Weisswasser (Germany, Saxony) project, a seismic survey was completed, and historical data obtained from an exploration drillhole sunk in this area in the 1960s was analysed. The collected data supported the possibility of the existence of copper mineralization which meets KGHM’s exploration criteria.