UPDATE: Kazakhmys Expects Kazakh Central Bank To Buy 69,000 Oz Gold In 1Q

--Kazakhmys says it will sell 69,000 ounces of gold bar to Kazakh central bank in first quarter
--It says one third of the metal has already been shipped
--Kazakhstan reported the world's largest central bank purchases of gold to the IMF in January


LONDON (Dow Jones)--Kazakhstan's central bank is expected in the first quarter of 2012 to buy 69,000 troy ounces of gold bar, worth $122 million, that is being stockpiled by U.K.-listed miner Kazakhmys PLC (KAZ.LN), the company said Thursday.

Kazakhstan has been an active buyer in the gold market, having purchased more than 700,000 ounces over the past six months amid ballooning demand for the precious metal from emerging market central banks.

Oleg Novachuk, chief executive of Kazakhmys PLC, said in a conference call with journalists that all the stockpiled gold bar will be sold by the end of the first quarter. The chief executive and Chief Financial Officer Matthew Hird also said that a third of this has already been shipped.

It isn't known whether it was included in purchases made by the bank in January, when Kazakhstan--the world's largest reported central bank buyer during the month--bought some 245,000 ounces of gold bullion.

The National Bank of Kazakhstan wasn't available for immediate comment.

The January additions took the nation's total reserves of the metal to 2.881 million ounces, according to figures from the International Monetary Fund. The central bank had already bought 270,000 ounces of gold in December and more than 100,000 ounces in October, the IMF data show.

In a statement, Kazakhmys, Kazakhstan's largest copper producer, said that while negotiations are continuing with the National Bank regarding its purchasing of gold bar from the miner, the stockpiled material will be sold within the first half at market prices.

The spot gold price had an average PM fix value of $1,656.12/oz in January, according to the London Bullion Market Association. While this would value the metal around $114 million, prices have since risen--to trade around $1,722/oz Thursday--and the company said it expects to sell the metal for $122 million.

"In mid-2011 we announced that the National Bank wished to purchase precious metals to hold in reserve and ongoing sales had been disrupted by the negotiations," said the company in the statement. "The group resumed export sales of silver and gold dore in the third quarter 2011, but had stockpiled 69,000 ounces of gold bar by the year end. We anticipate the National Bank will be purchasing the stockpiled material during the first half."

Prior to January's purchases, Kazakhstan's gold holdings had made up about 13% of the country's total foreign reserves, according to the World Gold Council.

Emerging market central banks have been buying gold in reaction to the sovereign debt crises affecting traditional reserve currencies, like the dollar and the euro.

Kazakhmys meanwhile reported a 1.4% rise in its full-year adjusted earnings Thursday. Earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization, or Ebitda, excluding special items was $1.96 billion for the 12 months to Dec. 31, compared with $1.93 billion during the same period a year earlier. This beat expectations of $1.92 billion, according to a company poll of 10 analysts.