Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 11
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend: The Kumtor gold mine located in Kyrgyzstan produced 180,793 ounces or 5,623 kilograms of gold in the first half of 2014, Kumtor Gold Company operating the mine reported Aug. 11.
The gold production at the mine in the second quarter of 2014- hit 2,422 kilograms (or 77,860 ounces) compared to 2,251 kilograms (or 72,365 ounces) in the same quarter in 2013, as Kumtor processed stockpiled ore which was mined during the fourth quarter of 2013.
The volume of ore processed during the reporting period increased by 6 percent to 1.4 million tonnes. The increase in gold production also resulted from the extraction of the ore with higher gold content.
Gold sales in the second quarter of 2014 were 77,743 ounces, or approximately 2.4 tonnes. Total revenue from gold sales was $99.8 million.
Kumtor mine is expected to produce 550,000 - 600,000 ounces or 17.1-18.7 tonnes of gold in 2014. Over 50 percent of this volume is forecasted to be produced during the fourth quarter when mining will reach the high-grade section of the SB Zone as it was in 2013.
The projected capital expenditures for 2014, excluding capitalized stripping, are estimated to be $86 million. Capitalized stripping costs are expected at $181 million in 2014.
Canadian Centerra Gold owns 100 percent of the Kumtor gold mine through its wholly owned subsidiary Kumtor Gold Company. Kumtor is located in Kyrgyzstan, about 350 kilometers southeast of the capital Bishkek and about 60 kilometers north of the border with China. It is the largest gold mine operated in Central Asia by a Western-based company, having produced more than 9.2 million ounces of gold between 1997 and the end of 2013.
In 2013 Kumtor's gold production was 600,402 ounces.
Edited by C.N.
