Kazakhstan's appetite and subsequent buying of the precious safe haven yellow metal gold has yet to reach its apex, as U.K.-listed miner Kazakhmys PLC on Thursday announced it anticipates the country's central bank to shore up its gold stockpile this first quarter by as much as 69,000 troy ounces.

The forecast buying could be worth $122 million, Dow Jones Newswires reported, quoting Oleg Novachuk, chief executive of Kazakhmys PLC, as saying during a conference call with journalists.

Over the past six months, according to Mr Novachuk, Kazakhstan had bought more than 700,000 ounces, a testament to gold's safe haven appeal in the face of the present global fiscal crisis.

All the stockpiled gold bar by Kazakhmys PLC will be sold by the end of the first quarter, Mr Novachuk, presumably to

Kazakhstan, a transcontinental country in Central Asia and Europe.

In a statement, Kazakhmys PLC said it will sell at market prices its stockpiled gold metals within the first half.

"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," the company said. "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."

Matthew Hird, chief executive and Chief Financial Officer of Kazakhmys PLC, said a third of its stockpile has been shipped, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Data from the International Monetary Fund showed that Kazakhstan's gold reserves as of January now total 2.881 million ounces. The central bank bought 270,000 ounces of gold in December, more than 100,000 ounces in October and some 245,000 ounces of gold bullion in January.

The World Gold Council had earlier said that Kazakhstan's gold holdings contributed to 13 per cent of the country's total foreign reserves.

Kazakhstan became the world's largest reported central bank gold buyer in January when it bought 245,000 ounces of gold bullion.

Kazakhmys PLC is Kazakhstan's largest copper producer.