AKIPRESS.COM - KAZ Minerals Plc said it expected its 2016 copper output to increase by at least 60 percent as its Bozshakol and Aktogay projects come online, sending shares up more than 10 percent on Thursday morning.

The copper mining company said it expected to produce 130,000 to 155,000 tonnes of copper cathode equivalent in 2016, up from 81,100 tonnes in 2015. Bozshakol alone is expected to add 45,000 to 65,000 tonnes of copper next year.

KAZ plans to increase its copper output to about 300,000 tonnes by 2018 with the addition of Bozshakol and Aktogay.

The company, however, reported a 43 percent drop in full-year earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to $202 million, hurt by tumbling copper prices.

KAZ said it would not pay a dividend this year but would resume dividend payments when the environment improved.

"As a shareholder I can tell you I am the most keen person to start paying dividend to shareholders," Chief Executive Oleg Novachuk said in a media call. He added that the decision would be guided by the economic situation.

Novachuk owns a 7.8 percent stake in Kaz, making him the second-largest shareholder in the company, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Shares in the company were up 8.3 percent at 157 pence at 0906 GMT on the London Stock Exchange.