Centerra and Premier Form JV to Advance Trans-Canada Property


Drilling at the Hardrock project near Geraldton in northern Ontario.
Centerra Gold and Premier Gold Mines have formed a 50:50 joint venture for ownership and development of Premier’s Trans- Canada property located near the Trans- Canada Highway in northern Ontario. The Trans-Canada property comprises a group of mineral claims within the Geraldton- Beardmore greenstone belt approximately 250 km northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. Together, the claim blocks cover an area of approximately 33,000 ha, consisting of unpatented mineral claims, mining leases and mining patent claims.

The property includes the Hardrock project, which is located in a historic gold camp that produced approximately 3 million oz of gold between 1936 and 1970. The project benefits from excellent existing infrastructure. The town of Geraldton is only 2 km to the north. A feasibility study is currently in progress.

Premier completed a preliminary economic assessment of the Hardrock project in January 2014. Resources are currently estimated at 4.87 million oz indicated in 89.04 million mt grading 1.7 g/mt gold and 2.74 million oz inferred in 23.15 million mt grading 3.69 g/mt gold.

The Trans-Canada property also has mineral resources in the Brookbank, Kailey and Key Lake gold deposits, and several other gold prospects and high-potential exploration targets are recognized on the extensive property.

Under the terms of the joint-venture agreement, Centerra will contribute up to C$300 million in cash to the partnership, while Premier will contribute all property, assets and rights it holds in respect of the Trans-Canada property. Centerra will make an initial C$85 million cash contribution to the partnership and will make subsequent capital contributions in the aggregate amount of C$185 million. A portion of these funds will initially be used to complete a comprehensive technical and economic feasibility study, including an updated mineral resource calculation for the Hardrock project.

Subject to the satisfaction of certain feasibility and project advancement criteria, the remainder of the funds will be applied toward construction and development of the Hardrock project.

The joint venture will be managed by a corporation owned 50:50 by Centerra and Premier. Initially, the board of directors will consist of four directors, with two nominees from Centerra and two from Premier.

Centerra Gold owns and operates the Kumtor gold mine in the Kyrgyz Republic and the Boroo gold mine in Mongolia. Commenting on its new Ontario joint venture with Premier Gold, Centerra President and CEO Ian Atkinson said, “We feel that the Trans-Canada property, including the flagship Hardrock gold project, complements our growth pipeline, which includes the Gatsuurt project in Mongolia and the Öksüt project in Turkey.”

As featured in Womp 2015 Vol 03 - www.womp-int.com