Centerra Gold Reports Restart of Mill Processing Operations at Mt. Milligan
TORONTO, Feb. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centerra Gold Inc. (“Centerra”) (TSX:CG) today reported that its Mount Milligan operation in British Columbia, Canada initiated restart of mill operations at partial capacity. At this time, the mill is utilizing one ball mill to minimize water requirements. During the restart phase, the Company anticipates a ramp-up period and there may be periodic commissioning downtime. Mill operations are expected to achieve sustainable mill throughput levels of approximately 30,000 tpd by mid-February.
During the recent shutdown the Company completed a number of steps to increase the flow of water into the tailings storage facility (TSF) from which the Mount Milligan mill draws all of its water requirements to supply milling operations. Such steps included adding pumps to existing water wells, increasing pump sizes to increase the flow rate, and drilling additional wells. Current make-up water sources for the TSF are from normal surface run-off, groundwater wells internal to the TSF, and from base underdrain towers that access process water underlying the TSF. The Company expects to restart the second ball mill in April, returning mill operations to full capacity, when additional fresh water becomes available from surface run-off after the spring melt. The return of mill operations to sustainable levels, on one or both ball mills, is dependent on the performance of the make-up water sources noted above and the overall water balance in the TSF. In addition the availability of water is subject to, among other things, natural forces that can be unpredictable.
As a further longer-term mitigation measure, the Company has now received an amendment to Mount Milligan’s Environmental Assessment Certificate to allow pumping of water from a nearby lake (Philip Lake) and has received the additional related permits. The Company expects to commence drawing water from Philip Lake by the end of February.
The Company expects to issue its 2018 full-year Company-wide guidance on February 23, 2018.
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Information contained in this document which are not statements of historical facts, and the documents incorporated by reference herein, 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”, “anticipate”, “contemplate”, “plan”, “intends”, “continue”, “budget”, “estimate”, “may”, “will”, “schedule”, “understand” and similar expressions identify forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: the performance of mill operations at the Mount Milligan mill, including the re-start of the mill, the achievement of sustainable throughput, the return of mill operations to full capacity, the continued performance of mitigation measures to provide make-up water flows to the TSF, and the timing and outcome of pumping from Philip Lake to access additional fresh water.
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. Known and unknown factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward looking information. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include, among other things: Aboriginal claims and consultative issues relating to Mount Milligan’s permitting and regulatory matters, risks related to operational matters and the Company’s ability to successfully manage such matters, including the ability of the Company to successfully manage water issues, mechanical breakdowns and maintenance at Mount Milligan; the availability of water resources at Mount Milligan and the Company’s expectations regarding the effects and timing of weather and spring melt at Mount Milligan; and the Company’s expectations regarding the results of drilling to access water from aquifers near Mount Milligan. See section titled “Risks that can affect our business” in the 2016 Annual Information Form 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 February 5, 2018. 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 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. Centerra operates two flagship assets, the Kumtor Mine in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Mount Milligan Mine in British Columbia, Canada and 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 based 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.
A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/a6e555c2-def0-4164-8fe6-5e13e95dc211
For more information: John W. Pearson Vice President, Investor Relations Centerra Gold Inc. (416) 204-1953 john.pearson@centerragold.com