15:28, 07 апреля 2020, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Anton LYMAR
Gold production at the Kumtor Mine in 2019 was 600,201 ounces (1 ounce - 31.10348 grams) or 18,668.35 kg. Centerra Gold Inc. reported.
Gold sales in 2019 were 600,231 ounces or 18,669.28 kg with a revenue totaling $827.5 million. Contribution to the national budget in taxes and mandatory payments in 2019 is more than 14.8 billion soms.
The Dore bars produced by the Kumtor mine are purchased by Kyrgyzaltyn JSC for processing at the Kara-Balta refinery pursuant to a Gold and Silver Sales Agreement signed by KGC, Kyrgyzaltyn and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic. Kyrgyzaltyn JSC enjoys the exclusive right to sell refined gold and silver both within and outside the Kyrgyz Republic.
Centerra has taken the following measures to provide its employees with accurate information, help prevent infection and reduce the potential transmission of COVID-19:
An Airborne magnetic geophysical survey was also carried out within the Kumtor Concession area and beyond.
A complete listing of the drill results, drill hole locations and plan map for the Kumtor Mine have been filed on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (‘SEDAR’) at www.sedar.com and are available at the Company’s web site www.centerragold.com.
Kumtor produced 600,201 ounces of gold in 2019 compared to 534,563 ounces of gold in 2018.
The increase was due primarily to processing ore with higher grade and recovery from cut-back 18 and cut-back 19. During 2019, Kumtor’s mill head grade was 3.7 g/t with a recovery of 83.5% compared with 3.3 g/t grade and a recovery of 79.3% for 2018.
Mining costs, including capitalized stripping, were $197.6 million in 2019 compared to $211.1 million in 2018. Mining costs decreased due to fewer tonnes mined as a result of the suspension of mining in December 2019 and poor weather conditions during the summer, resulting in a decrease in diesel costs, partially offset by higher costs for spare parts.
Production costs per ounce of gold sold were $381 for 2019, consistent with $394 in 2018, due to ounces sold and cost of sales increasing by similar percentages.
Kumtor’s contributions in taxes and mandatory payments for the twelve months of 2019
Type of payment (US dollars) |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Total |
Gross Proceeds Tax |
10,947,177 |
29,585,268 |
23,227,415 |
44,381,965 |
108,141,825 |
Contribution to Issyk-Kul Development Fund |
2,043,231 |
2,275,790 |
1,786,724 |
2,379,163 |
8,484,908 |
Contribution to Nature Development Fund |
- |
- |
57,400,000 |
3,700,000 |
61,100,000 |
Contribution to Regional Social Partnership Fund |
- |
- |
5,000,000 |
951,665 |
5,951,665 |
Pollution Charge |
310,000 |
- |
- |
- |
310,000 |
Total |
13,300,408 |
31,861,057 |
87,414,139 |
51,412,793 |
183,988,397 |
US$ official exchange rate to the Kyrgyz Soms at the end of the quarter |
|
|
|
|
|
Equivalent of payments effected in Kyrgyz Soms |
929,028,179 |
2,214,114,061 |
6,093,106,443 |
3,580,587,414 |
12,816,836,097 |
Notes:
Under the Agreement on New Terms dated as of April 24, 2009, the revenue-based tax and contributions to the Issyk-Kul Region Development Fund are estimated based on actual cash revenues from sales during the period under review.
Contribution to Nature Development Fund and Contribution to Regional Social Partnership Fund are made under the Strategic Agreement among the Government, Centerra Gold Inc. and KGC of September 7, 2017, and in accordance with Additional Contributions of July 8, 2019.
Type of payment (Kyrgyz soms) |
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Total |
Personal Income tax |
101,803,525 |
89,661,508 |
81,957,964 |
70,960,356 |
344,383,353 |
State Social Insurance Contribution |
461,734,642 |
386,137,482 |
372,087,070 |
354,457,461 |
1,574,416,655 |
Customs Fees |
4,353,000 |
5,710,000 |
6,465,000 |
7,355,000 |
23,883,000 |
Tax on nonresident companies |
4,368,386 |
4,931,646 |
6,961,372 |
4,390,675 |
20,652,080 |
Other taxes and mandatory payments |
9,761,878 |
9,176,628 |
6,748,696 |
10,307,758 |
35,994,959 |
Total |
582,021,431 |
495,617,263 |
474,220,102 |
447,471,250 |
1,999,330,046 |
Contributions made within the Kyrgyz Republic in 2019 (including taxes, refining, domestic suppliers, infrastructure, charities, etc.) have exceeded US $ 366.899 million. In all, contributions made within the Kyrgyz Republic between 1994 and 2019 have exceeded US $ 4.14 billion.
At Kumtor over the past 18 months we have invested significantly in exploration drilling and at year-end we can see the results as Kumtor’s open pit measured and indicated gold mineral resources increased by 3.3 million contained ounces to 6.3 million contained ounces and open pit inferred gold mineral resources increased by 1.2 million contained ounces to 1.4 million contained ounces. We are now in the process of updating Kumtor’s life-of-mine plan and an updated technical report which we plan to release in the second half of 2020.
The safety of our employees remains our top priority during the outbreak of COVID-19 and we are taking action based on the best available information we have. To ensure appropriate social distancing, the Company has temporarily closed its head office in Toronto and regional offices in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic, Prince George, British Columbia, Canada and Ankara, Turkey and has asked its workforce to operate remotely.”
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The Kumtor open pit mine, located in the Kyrgyz Republic, is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia operated by a Western-based gold producer. It has been in production since 1997 and has produced over 12.6 million ounces of gold to December 31, 2019.
Kumtor Gold Company is the operator of the Kumtor Project responsible for the entire production cycle.
Centerra Gold Inc. is a Canadian-based gold mining company focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring gold properties in North America, Asia and other markets worldwide and is one of the largest Western-based gold producers in Central Asia. Centerra operates two flagship assets, the Kumtor Mine in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Mount Milligan Mine in British Columbia, Canada and now has a third operating gold mine, the 100% owned Öksüt Mine in Turkey. Centerra Gold's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) under the symbol CG. The Company is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
The Kyrgyz Republic, via Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, is Centerra Gold's largest shareholder owning 77,401,766 common shares. As of April 7, 2020, Kyrgyzstan's interests were estimated at $ 490 million.
Additional information on Centerra Gold Inc. and the full text of the news release on the 2019 Fourth Quarter and 2019 Year-end Results are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the corporate websites at www.centerragold.com and www.kumtor.kg.