Last checked at 1 Nov 2023 07:00
1 November 2023
Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited
("Chaarat" or the "Company")
Tulkubash contracts signed
Chaarat Gold (AIM: CGH), the AIM-quoted gold mining Company with development projects in the Kyrgyz Republic, is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Chaarat Zaav CJSC, has entered into binding conditional agreements for the construction and operation of its wholly owned Tulkubash Gold Project ("Tulkubash") in the Kyrgyz Republic. Tulkubash contains resources of 1,011 Koz (M&I and Inferred) and Kyzyltash, which is on the same license, has unconstrained resource of 5,377Koz1 (M&I and Inferred).
The following conditional contracts have been signed with Power Construction Corporation of China Limited, the Kyrgyz subsidiary of Power Construction Corporation of China International Group Limited ("Power China") for the Tulkubash Gold Project:
? US $82.8 million engineering, procurement, and construction ("EPC") ceiling price contract;
? US $160.1 million for a five-year mining contract; and
? US $7.2 million for a five-year operation and maintenance contract.
The revised capital development costs are now expected to be US $104.2 million, US $11.2 million lower than originally stated in the Company's Bankable Feasibility Study2 which was finalised in May 2021 ("BFS"). The revised capital development cost of US $104.2 million includes the US $82.8 million EPC cost with Power China (which includes $15.2 million in mine development costs), US $16.4 million of owners costs (project management, spares & first fills and pre-production fuel) and US $5.0 million contingency (5% of the total cost of the development, in recognition of the not to exceed ceiling pricing mechanism in the EPC contract).
The Power China agreements are a critical step in the pathway for Chaarat to secure funding, for its Tulkubash Project. All agreements are subject to securing full project funding for Tulkubash and the Company continues to advance discussions with potential investors, including, as previously announced, Xiwang International.
David Mackenzie, Chief Financial Officer of Chaarat, said:
"Chaarat appreciates the pace at which Power China has worked to conclude commercial discussions, for what is another important milestone for the Tulkubash Project. This is a key contract that fixes the majority of the project cost and materially de-risks the delivery of the Project. Having Power China for both construction and operational phases is a full-service solution ensuring the project will proceed efficiently from construction phase through commissioning to operations. With these conditional contracts now in place, Chaarat will be able to move expediently to construction of its Tulkubash project as soon as the project funding has been secured. Given the reduction in capital development costs we will update the market shortly with revised management estimates on the project economics."
Power China
As one of the world's largest construction enterprises, Power China conducts business in more than 130 countries around the world and has delivered a series of industry-leading and high-quality projects over the years. In 2023, Power China ranked 105th among the Fortune Global 500 Companies, and 32nd among the Top 500 Enterprises in China. Power China is a publicly listed entity, with a majority owned by the Chinese State. Further information can be found at: https://en.powerchina.cn/
1 Per the 2022 annual report, which also includes details of JORC compliant ore reserves at Tulkubash, and can be found on Chaarat's website.
2 Bankable Feasibility Study report produced by LogiProc (Pty) Ltd and released by Chaarat in May 2021 can be found on Chaarat's website.
Enquiries | |
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Chaarat Gold Holdings Limited | +44 (0)20 7499 2612 |
Martin Andersson (Executive Chair) | IR@chaarat.com |
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Canaccord Genuity Limited (NOMAD and Joint Broker) | +44 (0)20 7523 8000 |
Henry Fitzgerald-O'Connor |
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James Asensio | |
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Axis Capital Markets Limited (Joint Broker) | +44 (0)20 3026 0449 |
Ben Tadd Lewis Jones |
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Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited (Joint Broker) | +44 (0)20 7886 2500 |
John Prior Hugh Rich
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Stifel Nicolaus Europe Limited (Financial Advisor) | +44 (0)20 7710 7600 |
Jan-Erik Back
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About Chaarat
Chaarat is an exploration and development company which owns the Tulkubash and Kyzyltash gold projects in the Kyrgyz Republic. The Company has a clear strategy to build a leading emerging markets gold company through organic growth and selective M&A.
Chaarat aims to create value for its shareholders, employees and communities from its high-quality gold and mineral deposits by building relationships based on trust and operating to the best environmental, social and employment standards. Further information is available at www.chaarat.com.
ENDS