Centerra Gold Inc.
Overview
Centerra Gold Inc. is a mid-tier gold producer headquartered in Toronto, Canada, operating primarily in Canada. The company's portfolio consists of 6 projects, comprising 2 operating mines, 1 development, 2 advanced exploration, and 1 suspended project. Key assets include Mount Milligan, Öksüt, and Thompson Creek. The company's business model encompasses the full mining lifecycle, from early-stage exploration and project development to mine operations, closure, and reclamation. Operational capabilities are diversified across multiple processing methodologies, including conventional truck-shovel open-pit mining, heap leaching, and a comprehensive milling process involving crushing, grinding, flotation, and gravity circuits. The organization also operates a specialized business unit that purchases third-party concentrates for conversion into upgraded products for metallurgical and chemical markets, demonstrating vertical integration and value-add processing capabilities. Marketing and distribution strategies are tailored to product type; refined doré bars are sold to a national central bank or on a public exchange, while metal concentrates are sold to various international smelters and off-take purchasers under multi-year agreements. This integrated approach, combining upstream resource extraction with downstream processing and diversified sales channels, provides operational flexibility and mitigates market-specific risks. The enterprise maintains a formal enterprise risk management program, applying both bottom-up and top-down approaches to identify and manage a broad spectrum of strategic, financial, and operational risks.
Strategy
Strategic priorities focus on maximizing the value of the existing asset base through operational optimization and disciplined growth. A key initiative is a site-wide optimization program designed to deliver holistic improvements in occupational health and safety, enhance fleet availability and utilization, and increase mill throughput. The company is also re-evaluating the technical concepts for a key development property, including confirmation drilling and technical studies, to determine its future potential and define an updated resource estimate. A strategic, integrated business plan has been developed for its molybdenum business unit, which includes restarting a previously idled mine and executing a commercially optimized ramp-up plan for its metallurgical facility. Capital allocation is managed through a formal dividend policy and a normal course issuer bid, with decisions guided by cash balance, operating cash flows, and capital requirements for future growth. The pursuit of new project opportunities worldwide remains a core part of the long-term strategy, with potential projects evaluated through a rigorous series of technical studies, including preliminary economic assessments, pre-feasibility studies, and feasibility studies, to de-risk development and support investment decisions.
Management
Governance is overseen by a 7-member Board of Directors, with leadership and oversight functions distributed across 4 standing committees: Audit; Human Resources and Compensation; Nominating and Corporate Governance; and Technical and Corporate Responsibility. The Audit Committee is composed of 3 independent directors, all of whom are financially literate, with one designated as an audit committee financial expert. This committee is directly responsible for overseeing the integrity of financial statements, the external auditor's independence and performance, and the internal audit function. The company has implemented a comprehensive system of internal controls over financial reporting and disclosure, with the CEO and CFO providing quarterly and annual certifications as required under NI 52-109. An internal disclosure committee, comprising senior executives, reviews all public documents containing material information. The Board is responsible for the overall stewardship of the company, including the supervision of strategic business plans, approval of material transactions, and oversight of the enterprise risk management program, which ensures risk-informed decision-making across all operations and corporate offices.
Sustainability
The company's sustainability framework is aligned with the Responsible Gold Mining Principles (RGMPs), with its conformance for calendar year 2023 confirmed through independent assurance. A core component of its safety culture is the 'Work Safe│Home Safe' program, a safety leadership initiative developed with input from all organizational levels to empower employees and change safety-related behavior. Environmental stewardship is demonstrated through specific management programs, including obtaining International Cyanide Management Code certification for its cyanide-handling operations. Tailings storage facilities are managed according to Canadian Dam Association guidelines and feature a 5-step risk mitigation process that includes Independent Tailings Review Boards. The organization has established a Global Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA) Executive Council, chaired by the CEO, to guide its diversity initiatives. Community engagement is formalized through structures like the Mount Milligan Community Sustainability Committee, which allocates funding from a dedicated Community Project Fund to support local health, education, and environmental initiatives. The company also partners with Indigenous groups and local colleges on customized pre-employment training programs.
Structure
The corporate structure includes a 75% interest in the Endako Mine Joint Venture, with the remaining 25% held by Moon River Molybdenum BC Ltd., Inc. A significant structural change occurred in 2022 with the completion of a transaction with Kyrgyzaltyn JSC and the Kyrgyz Republic, which involved the disposition of the Kumtor Mine, the repurchase and cancellation of 77,401,766 of the company's common shares held by Kyrgyzaltyn, and the resolution of all outstanding disputes. This transaction also resulted in the resignation of 2 directors nominated by the state-owned entity. In February 2022, the company expanded its asset portfolio through the acquisition of Gemfield Resources LLC from Waterton Nevada Splitter, LLC. A key asset operates under a streaming arrangement with Royal Gold, entitling the partner to receive 35% of gold and 18.75% of copper production. In February 2024, this arrangement was modified by an Additional Agreement that established new, higher payment thresholds for metals delivered after January 1, 2024, effectively increasing future cash payments to the company in exchange for an upfront payment and future commitments.
Source
Centerra Gold Inc. - Annual Information Form - 2024
- Project should be interpreted as a single, group or complex of mines, deposits or other mineral assets. Name of the project should be identical to the official company naming convention.
- The ranges of values provided are indicative and should not be regarded as exact figures.
- Figures for exploration and development projects are based on available data and are indicative only; actual values may vary substantially.
- Royalties frequently apply to specific mineralized areas that may not coincide exactly with the boundaries of the overall project. As a result, even if a mine is currently in operation, the portion subject to the royalty may not be included in extraction activities until future years.
- Commodities are listed from most dominant to least dominant. Only selected commodities are shown.
- Table might not include all projects that are currently owned by the company. Displayed data are snapshots of the company's projects in time and might not be up to date.
- Exploration projects are partially represented in the table. Only projects with mineralization or strategic importance are shown.
- Companies might own processing facilities that are not included in the table. Those facilities play important role especially for companies operating in uranium, nickel and lithium sectors.
- Chart is always based on the company's primary listing.
- Presented values are denominated in currency of the country where the company is headquartered. Values like market capitalization might differ from the values visible in other parts of the page, where the currency is always USD.
- koz au: Thousand ounces of gold (production volume)
- moz au: Million ounces of gold (resource base or production volume)
- g/t: Grams per tonne (grade of gold or silver in ore)
- usd/oz au: US dollars per ounce of gold (cost metric)
- moz ag: Million ounces of silver (resource base or production volume)
- g/t ag: Grams per tonne of silver in ore (grade)
- usd/oz ag: US dollars per ounce of silver (cost metric)
- kt cu: Thousand tonnes of copper (production volume)
- mt ore: Million tonnes of ore (resource base for copper)
- %: Percent copper or uranium in ore (grade)
- usd/lb cu: US dollars per pound of copper (cost metric)
- mlb U3O8: Million pounds of uranium oxide (U3O8) (production or resource base)
- % eU3O8: Percent equivalent uranium oxide in ore (grade)
- usd/lb u3o8: US dollars per pound of uranium oxide (cost metric)
- Open Pit: Surface mining method using large excavated terraces to extract ore
- Underground: Subsurface mining through shafts, tunnels, and chambers
- ISR (In-Situ Recovery): Solution mining method using chemical leaching without excavation
- Exploration: Early-stage project searching for and defining mineral deposits
- Development: Mine under construction or preparation for production
- Operating: Active mine currently extracting and processing ore
- Expansion: Mine temporarily suspended or with limited production, in progress to increase production in the future
- Reclamation: Mine permanently closed or no longer producing, but the site is being rehabilitated
- P&P (Proven and Probable Reserves): Highest confidence mineral resources with detailed mine plans, it's a subset of M&I
- M&I (Measured and Indicated Resources): Well-defined resources with good geological confidence
- Inf (Inferred Resources): Estimated resources with limited geological confidence
- Scoping Study: High-level assessment to determine if a project warrants further investigation
- PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment): Initial economic evaluation of a mineral project
- Pre-Feasibility (Preliminary Feasibility Study): Intermediate-level technical and economic assessment
- Feasibility (Definitive Feasibility Study): Comprehensive technical and economic evaluation for investment decisions
- BFS (Bankable Feasibility Study): Detailed study meeting lender requirements for project financing
- NPV (Net Present Value): Discounted value of future cash flows minus initial investment
- IRR (Internal Rate of Return): Discount rate that makes NPV equal to zero
- Payback Period: Time required to recover initial capital investment from project cash flows
- AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost): Total cost per ounce including sustaining capital and corporate costs
- Royalty: Payment to landowner/government based on percentage of production value or revenue
- Stream: Agreement to purchase future production at predetermined price, often below market rate
- NSR (Net Smelter Return): Royalty based on net revenue after smelting and refining costs
- GRR (Gross Revenue Royalty): Royalty based on total gross revenue before any deductions
- NPI (Net Profits Interest): Royalty based on net profits after operating costs and capital recovery