TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Toronto-based gold producer Centerra Gold has made “significant progress” in talks with the government of Kyrgyzstan on an investment agreement for the company’s Kumtor mine, and a draft agreement has been submitted to the government and the Centerra board for review, the firm said on Wednesday.
Centerra and 53%-shareholder Cameco resumed negotiations with the Kyrgyz authorities in July last year, after the bayer process ball mill improving grinding bauxiteparties agreed to a postpone arbitration proceedings, which were launched by Centerra after the couoman pellet plant jobsntry’s Parliament failed to approve an earlier draft last year.
Centerra said it will not comment on press reports in which the Kyrgyz Prime Minister processing bauxit orewas quoted as saying that an agreement had been reached on “resolving matters at issue in relation to the Kumtor project”.
Cameco, Centerra and the government of Kyrgyzstan negotiated preliminary agreements in August 2007, which would give the government an increased share in Centerra, in exchange for an increased concession area and a simplified, fixed-tax regime for its Kumtor gold project.
If all the transactions set out in the agreement had been completed, the Kyrgyz government would own 29,3% of Centerra, Cameco would own 40,5% and the balance, 30,2%, would be held by public shareholders.
After twice requesting more time to study the agreement, Parliament eventually allowed the June 1, 2008, deadline to pass without giving its approval, prompting Centerra to launch arbitration proceedings, which were postponed in July after the parties agreed to resume talks.
Centerra shares gained 15,4% on Wednesday, to C$6,67 apiece by 13:29 in Toronto.