Centerra Gold’s new gold deposit development plan gets Mongolian Parliament’s nod

BEIJING (Scrap Monster): The Mongolian Parliament has passed a resolution ratifying Centerra Gold’s plans to develop the Gatsuurt gold deposit near its Boroo Mine. As per the resolution, Centerra will hold 66% ownership in the project. The state will hold the remaining 34% share in the project. The company and the government had also agreed to 3% special royalty price in addition to the existing mineral royalty and tax regime.

The parliamentary nod is considered to be a very important milestone in the development of the project. The company will now focus on negotiating definitive agreements with the Mongolian government. Upon completion of the agreements, the company plans to go ahead with economic and technical studies to update the earlier study report published in 2006. The proximity to Centerra’s existing Boroo mill will help the company to minimize the capital investment required in developing the 1.6 million ounce gold deposit.

The Gatsuurt Project is located approximately 55 kilometres by road from the Company’s Boroo mine and is expected to be developed in accordance with applicable Mongolian environmental regulations and international standards, consistent with the standards adopted by the Boroo mine. The Gatsuurt Project’s estimated mineral reserves as at December 31, 2014 were 17.1 million tonnes at an average grade of 2.9 grams of gold per tonne containing 1.6 million ounces of gold using a cut-off grade of 1.4 grams per tonne.