CENTERRA Gold is on track to meet its 2014 production and cost guidance with the large Kumtor mine in the Kyrgyz Republic contributing the majority of ounces produced. During the June quarter Kumtor produced 77,860 ounces of the company’s total production of 92,124 ounces with the remainder from Boroo mine in Mongolia.

Chaarat Gold’s deadline to submit the development proposal for its Chaarat Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic has been extended by two years to December 2018.

The total JORC-compliant resource at Chaarat Gold Holdings’ Chaarat Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic has increased by 15% from 6.1 million ounces to 7.04 million ounces. The resource has been updated to reflect the results of the mine plan included in the feasibility study prepared by NERIN.

INITIAL results from a diamond drilling program at Tengri Resources’ Taldybulak Gold-Copper Project in the Talas exploration licence, Kyrgyz Republic, have confirmed the existence of a near-surface and higher grade gold system. The company commenced a 12-hole, 2000 metres diamond drilling program on August 1 following the signing of a 2-year access agreement with the local Talas community.

Tengri Resources has received wide gold and copper intersections from each of the first five drill holes in a 2500 metre diamond drilling program at Taldybulak Gold and Copper Project in the Kyrgyz Republic. Results have confirmed that gold and copper grades increase with depth.

Centerra Gold’s Kumtor operation in the Kyrgyz Republic has received its 2016 maximum allowable emissions (MAE) permit from the Kyrgyz Republic State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry (SAEPF).

Celsius Coal announces that the licences for its Kargasha and Kokkia tenements, which together comprise the Uzgen Basin Coking Coal Project, have been extended for two years.

Celsius Coal has received the first tranche of a $10 million strategic funding arrangement with the Singapore-based Blumont Group which will pay for its 2013 exploration and development program. The $5 million payment was received in return for more than 227 million Celsius shares.

Celsius Coal has signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Xinjiang Bayi Iron and Steel Group and China Minmetals Group. Both of these tier-one Chinese companies have operations in the province of Xinjiang, which neighbours the Kyrgyz Republic.

Centerra Gold has accessed the high grade SB Zone at the Kumtor Gold Project and expects this to lead to production for 2015 in the range of between 470,000 and 520,000 ounces. The company expects relatively even quarterly production from Kumtor as compared to prior years when the majority of the ounces were produced in the fourth quarter.

Centerra Gold understands that on Wednesday, April 23, the Parliament of the Kyrgyz Republic passed a law prohibiting activities which affect glaciers in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Glacier Law must be signed by the President of the Kyrgyz Republic before it will take effect.

Centerra Gold says it is disappointed by its total gold production for 2012 at the Kumtor mine, with 315,238 ounces produced. Fourth quarter production totalled 189,438 ounces after the company was forced to overcome unexpected acceleration of ice and waste in the Central Pit.

Centerra estimates that the Kumtor Gold Project will produce between 550,000 and 600,000 ounces in 2014 and, similar to 2013, more than 50% of this production is expected during the fourth quarter when mining will reach the high-grade section of the SB Zone.

After producing 77,860 ounces of gold from Kumtor project during the June quarter, Centerra Gold is on track to meet 2014 production and cost guidance. Kumtor contributed the majority of the company’s quarterly production of 92,124 ounces with the remainder from Boroo mine in Mongolia.

Centerra Gold officials remain confident that a new Kumtor operating agreement can be reached despite the fall of the Kyrgyz Republic’s ruling coalition government last week, including Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldiyev.

The definitive feasibility study for Chaarat Gold’s flagship project in the Kyrgyz Republic is on schedule and almost complete. The study for the Chaarat Gold Project is being undertaken by Chinese firm NERIN.

Chaarat Gold Holdings says the definitive feasibility study for the Chaarat Gold Project in the Kyrgyz Republic is on schedule and on budget. The company says contractors have been selected to complete all components of the DFS.

Chaarat Gold Holdings has reached another milestone at its Chaarat Gold Project with the award of licences from the Kyrgyz Government. The exploration and development company's two mining licences on its Chaarat deposit have been merged into one licence that is valid until 2032 while it has also been awarded an exploration licence that is valid until 2033 over prospective areas adjacent to the Chaarat licence.

Lab results of drill core from samples at Celsius Coal’s Tuyuk-Kargasha project within the Uzgen Basin property in central Kyrgyzstan have confirmed most intersections have strong coking properties. 15 of 16 coal samples have shown a free swelling index (FSI) greater than 4.5 which is the typical threshold for coking coal. Most samples show FSI in the range of 6.5 to 8.5, or high quality coking coal. 

Comet Resources is set to acquire Kyrgyz Gold and three drill-ready gold exploration licences in the Kyrgyz Republic’s Tien Shan gold belt.