TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - September 03, 2015) - Centerra Gold Inc. (CG.TO) announced today that it has filed on SEDAR a technical report for its 100% owned Öksüt Project, which is located in south-central Turkey.
As reported in the Company's news release of July 28, 2015, the Company expects to begin development of the Öksüt Project in the first quarter of 2016 with first gold production anticipated in the second quarter of 2017. Pre-production expenditures are estimated to be $221 million including a $25 million contingency. Detailed engineering and the ordering of long lead items have commenced.
The Öksüt open pit life-of-mine outlined in the technical report using a gold price of $1,250 per ounce and a discount rate of 8% has an estimated base case project NPV8 (after tax) of approximately $242 million and a project internal rate of return of 42.5% after accounting for all operating costs and capital expenditures related to the open pit operation as well as required tax and royalty payments and reclamation. Additional exploration costs going forward have not been included in the financial analysis.
The environmental impact assessment (EIA) process continues on schedule with formal EIA approval expected late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter 2015. Receipt of permits is contingent on the approval of the EIA and applications for all required permits will follow immediately upon approval of the EIA.
The technical report is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on the Company's website at www.centerragold.com.
Qualified Person & QA/QC
The technical report was undertaken by Centerra staff with the assistance of several external consultants. Scientific and technical information in this news release were prepared in accordance with the standards of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and were reviewed, verified and compiled by Centerra's geological and mining staff under the supervision of Gordon Reid, Professional Engineer and Centerra's Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer, who is the qualified person for the purpose of NI 43-101. Sample preparation, analytical techniques, laboratories used and quality assurance-quality control protocols used during the exploration drilling programs on the Öksüt Project have been done consistent with industry standards and independent certified assay labs have been used. Available quality control data indicates that the gold assay data used for resource estimation are reliable.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Information
Information contained in this news release and the documents referred to herein which are not statements of historical facts, may be "forward-looking information" for the purposes of Canadian securities laws. Such forward looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking information. The words "believe", "expect", "envision", "target", "intends", "estimate", "may", "will", and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, development plans and mining methods, commencement of mining and production, receipt of government approvals and licenses, life-of-mine operating costs, capital estimates, future cash flow estimates, financial forecasts including net present value and internal rate of return estimates and tax and royalty rates.
Forward-looking information is necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Centerra, are inherently subject to significant political, business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. There may be factors that cause results, assumptions, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities in future periods not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. These factors include: (A) strategic, legal, planning and other risks, including political risks associated with the Company's operations in Turkey; resource nationalism including the management of external stakeholder expectations; the impact of changes in, or to the more aggressive enforcement of, laws, regulations and government practices in the jurisdictions in which the Company operates including any unjustified civil or criminal action against the Company, its affiliates or its current or former employees; the impact of changes to, the increased enforcement of, environmental laws and regulations relating to the Company's operations; potential defects of title in the Company's properties that are not known as of the date hereof; the inability of the Company and its subsidiaries to enforce their legal rights in certain circumstances; risks related to anti-corruption legislation; potential risks related to kidnapping or acts of terrorism; (B) risks relating to financial matters, including: sensitivity of the Company's business to the volatility of gold prices, the imprecision of the Company's mineral reserves and resources estimates and the assumptions they rely on, the accuracy of the Company's production and cost estimates, the impact of restrictive covenants in the Company's revolving credit facility which may, among other things, restrict the Company from pursuing certain business activities, the Company's ability to obtain future financing, the impact of global financial conditions, the impact of currency fluctuations, the effect of market conditions on the Company's short-term investments, the Company's ability to make payments including any payments of principal and interest on the Company's debt facilities depends on the cash flow of its subsidiaries; and (C) risks related to operational matters and geotechnical issues; the success of the Company's future exploration and development activities, including the financial and political risks inherent in carrying out exploration activities; inherent risks associated with the use of sodium cyanide in the mining operations; the adequacy of the Company's insurance to mitigate operational risks; mechanical breakdowns; the occurrence of any labour unrest or disturbance; the risk that Centerra's workforce may be exposed to widespread epidemic; seismic activity in the vicinity of the Company's operations; reliance on a limited number of suppliers for certain consumables, equipment and components; the Company's ability to accurately predict decommissioning and reclamation costs, including closure costs to cap waste rock and heap leach dumps; the Company's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; the Company's ability to manage its projects effectively and to mitigate the potential lack of availability of contractors, budget and timing overruns and project resources, potential delays in the issuance of permits, particularly for state forestry land which covers part of the Öksüt Project area and on which the two open pits and part of the waste dump are located; potential opposition to the Öksüt Project by local communities or civil groups related to concerns over water usage in competition with agriculture, water quality, environmental impact from cyanide use in gold leaching, visual impacts, acoustic impacts, ambient air impacts or failure of the company to agree to local demands; potential material increases in project development or operation costs due to increases in key consumables, inflation, imposed demands for infrastructure development or regulatory changes; the planning, design and costing of the key project infrastructure such as power, water and access. See also "Risks that can affect our business" in the Company's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2014, available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
There can be no assurances that forward-looking information and statements will prove to be accurate, as many factors and future events, both known and unknown could cause actual results, performance or achievements to vary or differ materially, from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements contained herein or incorporated by reference. Accordingly, all such factors should be considered carefully when making decisions with respect to Centerra, and prospective investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is as of September 3, 2015. Centerra assumes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions, changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such forward looking information, except as required by applicable law.
About Centerra
Centerra is a North-American based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold properties in Asia, North America and other markets worldwide. Centerra is the largest Western-based gold producer in Central Asia. Centerra's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol CG. The Company is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Additional information on Centerra is available on the Company's web site at www.centerragold.com and at SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Attachment Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2015/9/3/11G052962/25-Oksut_Techncial-Report-FINAL-391729757979.pdf