BISHKEK (TCA) — Centerra Gold Inc. and Kumtor Gold Company have announced that they exceeded their 2015 annual gold production guidance for the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan.
Gold production at the Kumtor mine was 520,695 ounces, or 16 195.4 kg, of gold for the full year 2015.
The Kumtor mine exceeded its annual production guidance with relatively even quarterly production as compared to prior years when the majority of the ounces were produced in the fourth quarter, Centerra said.
The Kumtor mine is expected to produce between 480,000 and 530,000 ounces, or 14.9 and 16.5 tonnes, of gold in 2016. At Kumtor this year, it is expected that gold production will be weighted more towards the second half of the year as the higher grade portion of the SB Zone will be accessed at the end of the second quarter.
At Kumtor, 2016 total capital expenditures, excluding capitalized stripping, are forecast to be $110 million. Spending on sustaining capital of $84 million relates primarily to the major overhaul maintenance of the heavy duty mine equipment ($69 million), construction to raise the tailings dam ($6 million) and other items ($9 million).
Growth capital investment at Kumtor for 2016 is forecast at $26 million and includes the relocation of certain infrastructure at Kumtor related to the KS-13 life-of-mine expansion plan and dewatering projects, Centerra said.
Late in December, Kyrgyzstan’s Prime Minister Temir Sariyev said that the Government of Kyrgyzstan will prepare new proposals on the restructuring of the Kumtor gold mining project with the focus on protection of the country’s economic and ecological interests.
Canada-based Centerra Gold operates Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold mining project, and has been in talks with the Kyrgyz government for almost two years on a deal that would swap Kyrgyzstan’s 32.7 percent stake in Centerra for half of a joint venture that would control the gold deposit.
The Kyrgyz Government complained that Centerra had “presented a series of conditions for the registration and governance of the joint venture that were absolutely unacceptable”.
Centerra on December 22 said that it had received notice from the Kyrgyz Prime Minister Sariyev notifying Centerra of the Kyrgyz government’s intention to withdraw from further negotiations regarding the implementation of the non-binding heads of agreement dated January 18, 2014. The document contemplated a restructuring of the Kumtor project under which Kyrgyzstan’s state gold company Kyrgyzaltyn would receive a 50% interest in a joint venture company that would own the Kumtor project in exchange for its 32.7% interest in Centerra.
In his letter, Prime Minister Sariyev indicated the government’s desire to begin new consultations with Centerra regarding the further efficient implementation of the Kumtor project. The Prime Minister stated that “the government of the Kyrgyz Republic is still deeply interested in ensuring uninterrupted operations of the Kumtor mine and achieving mutual agreements which would allow further efficient implementation of the Kumtor project in accordance with the best world practice, standards and requirements of the mining industry transparency initiative.”
