Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : Mining News of Note -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: LoneClone who wrote (36010)	4/24/2009 10:28:08 AM
From: LoneClone	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 193918

Centerra Gold submits new draft Kumtor agreement to Kyrgyz govt - shares surge As a precursor to a deal which could resolve lingering nationalization worries, Centerra has submitted a new draft agreement over the Kumtor gold mine for approval. Author: Cameron French Posted: Thursday , 23 Apr 2009 TORONTO (Reuters) - mineweb.com Centerra Gold (CG.TO: Quote) stock jumped 11 percent on Wednesday on hopes it may finally be close to nailing down an ownership accord with the Kyrgyz government for its Kumtor mine, after the two sides appeared to concur on a draft version of an agreement. Canada-based Centerra -- which has been trying to revive an agreement that expired last June while it was awaiting parliamentary approval -- said it has submitted a draft to top Kyrgyz government officials for approval. Kyrgyz Prime Minister Igor Chudinov said the two sides had reached an agreement that would boost Kyrgyzstan's stake in the project to 33 percent from 15.66 percent. He said the new terms should guarantee payments to the Kyrgyz budget of about $3.4 billion through 2026. Currently, the country owns 15.66 percent of Centerra, while Canadian uranium producer Cameco (CCO.TO: Quote) owns 52.66 percent of the company. Under the terms of the previous draft agreement, Kyrgyzstan was to raise its stake to 30.6 percent of Centerra, while Cameco's holding was to fall to 37.7 percent. "We've made significant progress," John Pearson, Centerra's vice-president of investor relations, said of discussions with the Central Asian country. He would not comment on the terms of the new draft agreement, or on whether they were similar to the previous deal, which was initially agreed to in 2007. Pearson said he expects top Kyrgyz government officials to review the agreement on Friday, and if approved, it would then go before parliament. Kumtor is expected to produce between 560,000 and 600,000 ounces of gold in 2009 at a cash cost of $485 to $525 an ounce, according to a forecast released in February. The entire company's production, which also includes the Boroo deposit in Mongolia, should be between 720,000 and 770,000 ounces. The agreement is seen as key to putting to rest lingering shareholder fears of nationalization of the mine. Those fears reached a fever pitch after a Kyrgyz lawmaker brought forward a bill to take control of the country's gold mines in March 2007. Shares of Centerra rose 66 Canadian cents to C$6.44 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, touching their highest level since last June. The stock has jumped 28 percent over the past three sessions. "It's been dragged on and on... but obviously they made some progress," said John Ing, president of Toronto investment dealer Maison Placements. He said passing the agreement would quell nationalization fears and could give a further boost to the stock price. "This is one of the cheapest 700,000 ounce producers around," he said of Centerra. ($1=$1.24 Canadian) (Reporting by Cameron French; editing by Peter Galloway)