Chaarat Gold Share Discussion Threads

[oli12] 25/6/2018 08:06

A good management shuffle this AM. It would be good to see Artem buy some shares to show his belief in the project.

[wilmot] 25/6/2018 07:27

Yep. Can't wait for a completed M&A deal and the share price returning from suspension.

[casual47] 25/6/2018 06:12

Anyone else have the sense that success now has something of the inevitable for Chaarat? Solidly "when" and no longer if?

[casual47] 25/6/2018 06:07

Good. A red-blooded (and somewhat cheeky) salesman. Just what we need.

He was already behaving like the CEO anyway.

[smiley17] 25/6/2018 04:47

The former chief executive of Oleg Deripaska’s energy giant EN+ is to take up the top job at Aim-listed Chaarat Gold.

Artem Volynets is expected to be named Chaarat’s chief executive early this week as it pushes ahead with an ambitious expansion plan that could include the $800m (£600m) purchase of Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan’s biggest mine.

Mr Volynets said Chaarat will be a vehicle to consolidate gold mining assets across central Asia and Russia, with 13 projects in three countries currently being evaluated by the company.





“Our vision is to create one of the leading emerging market gold companies,” he said. “One has to think big, and that’s what we are trying to do.”

Chaarat has a target of producing one million ounces of gold a year within “the next several years”, he said. It is currently developing the eponymous Chaarat project in the Kyrgyz Republic but hopes the acquisition of Kumtor will kick-start its growth plans.

Chaarat’s unsolicited bid earlier this year was rejected by Kumtor’s owner, Toronto-listed Centerra. Mr Volynets insisted “that transaction will happen” as it will be beneficial to Centerra’s shareholders and the Kyrgyz government, which owns an indirect stake in Centerra.

The Kumtor deal would be funded by $400m cash raised through debt and equity, with the rest coming via a complicated share transfer deal.


Mr Volynets, who joined Chaarat’s board earlier this year, said its ambitious expansion plans had the backing of banks and institutional investors in Asia.

Gold mining in central Asia is particularly ripe for investment, he added. “We have no time to waste – we want to execute our strategy at full speed. I have full confidence in our funding abilities.”

[casual47] 22/6/2018 13:02

A most telling paragraph:

"An updated Resource Estimate will be prepared after completion of this year's planned drilling program; this updated estimated is expected to be completed in Q1 of 2019. If results warrant, an interim Resource Estimate may be prepared early in Q4 of 2018."

I think our BOD are champing at the bit....

If they are given the chance to develop these assets then they will be ready in time to take over from Kumtor.

Now wouldn't the Kyrgyz government like that? What other contingency is there? Jerooy?

[jc2706] 22/6/2018 10:29

I suspect that you will get your wish casual47.

[casual47] 22/6/2018 09:16

Excellent. Would be great if they could do a drilling update like this throughout the year. Today's drilling results cover just over 10% of what was planned for this year so I imagine the pace will need to ratchet up significantly if they want to get it all done before the winter season.

So...perhaps a drilling update every month, please?

[catsick] 22/6/2018 09:08

Yes more oxide close to the surface is what we want, nice and cheap to process on a big heap ... shame she shares are not trading as I would like to add ...

[juju44] 22/6/2018 08:38

Yep , more encouraging news. Someday , if things go to plan , the share price will be in pounds not pennies

[jc2706] 22/6/2018 08:13

Meanwhile, back at our own asset..... This is the start of the season's drill result reporting and it looks like it is confirming what, I believe, we already suspect i.e. this deposit is huge. From what is written here it seems that this is considered the hors d'oeuvres with segment V (must have missed that terminology) being the most interesting. These drill intercepts are not going to set the world alight in themselves but it is what they imply that is important. This is a near surface deposit with a very long strike. If they keep on going like this then Tulkubash alone could be 5-10m oz over the entire strike length. Kyzyltash is five times larger at the moment and runs parallel. Hopefully two and two in this case really do make four!

[oli12] 22/6/2018 08:05

Encouraging update this AM. Irrespective of what happens with our bid we potentially have a great cash cow of our own - it will just take time to come to fruition.

[jc2706] 21/6/2018 13:06

They wouldn't want to undermine the executive team in public but in private I would expect them to be having a few words.

[casual47] 21/6/2018 12:10

I wonder if one of those shareholders is Blackrock. If so, wouldn't they be a bit more upfront about it?

[jc2706] 21/6/2018 10:50

Well, if we are to take the Chaarat interview at face value and Centerra shareholders are, indeed, beginning to ask whether there is value to be had here, then that is certainly reason for optimism. If it forces Centerra (and the government) to the table then that is half the battle.

[casual47] 20/6/2018 17:51

CIBC: Chaarat offer provides no benefits to Centerra.



It certainly doesn't if you assume that Centerra is keeping 100% of all the net Kumtor profits (as they are doing now) and is not giving out any dividends (as they are doing now).

Any other scenario it seems fair to me.

[casual47] 20/6/2018 17:47

As expected: Centerra once again needs to push back the longstop deadline of the Strategic Agreement. This time to 23rd July.

[casual47] 20/6/2018 17:31

Fingers crossed. There is just so much pointing in the direction of this happening. Even indirect stuff, like this:




"The central Asian nation hopes to grow the share of gold in its $2 billion international reserves to 50 percent from around 16 percent now.

Kyrgyzstan is well placed to build up stockpiles, because the precious metal is its biggest export. Since 2014 the central bank has had a policy of buying up about as much of the country’s gold as possible, Abdygulov said."

[sparkyboy1] 20/6/2018 15:49

Well done Greenlane its looking good

[juju44] 20/6/2018 14:50

Thx Greenlane. It's building

[greenlane1] 20/6/2018 14:39

Here you go:
In an exclusive interview with Mining Journal, Russian-born businessman and Chaarat director Artem Volynets said he hoped Centerra management "will take its head out of the sand and start negotiating".

He was "confident" the new Kyrgyz administration, with whom he claimed to have "good relations", as well as the national parliament, would support Chaarat's proposed offer that has been turned down by Centerra. "We want to satisfy every constituency in the republic," he said.

If he gets his way, it would mean that Centerra's hopes of sealing an agreement later this month with the government around outstanding legal, profit-sharing and environmental issues - flashpoints that have plagued the two sides for years - would be kicked into touch.

Volynets said Centerra had used Kumtor cashflows to buy assets in North America and the mine had "long been a disappointment to people in Kyrgyzstan".

"Our offer is a way to resolve the disappointment and it would be more lucrative for the country than current arrangements with Centerra," he claimed.

State-owned gold company Kyrgyzaltyn has an indirect holding in Kumtor, via a 26% stake in Centerra's equity that is listed on the TSX. So whatever happens next, if anything, would have to involve a three-way agreement.

Volynet's latest intervention comes amid political instability in Kyrgyzstan after former prime minister Sapar Isakov was ousted in April. He has recently been charged with corruption linked to a Chinese-financed power station.

Additionally, reports in local media have recorded arrests of supporters of former president Almazbek Atambayev, who Isakov served under. It was Isakov who oversaw the latest deal with Centerra, led by CEO Scott Perry.

The status of that deal appears uncertain, but in a recent statement to shareholders Perry said he expected a resolution in the third week of June. However, Volynets claimed Perry's words were "a victory of hope over facts".

On April 25, AIM-listed Chaarat publicised an unsolicited US$800 million bid for Kumtor, the biggest gold mine owned by a western miner in Central Asia.

Centerra dismissed the proposal, which was originally put to Centerra directors in March - before the removal of Isakov.

Kumtor is highly profitable and contributes a whopping 10% to Kyrgyzstan's GDP via taxes and other payments. Kumtor produced 563,000 ounces of gold in 2017, about 70% of the company's total. Profits are turbocharged because the local currency has depreciated, while revenue is generated in strengthening US dollars.

Volynets said: "This asset provides key economic benefits and is a matter of national interest."

He also said: "There has always been tension between Centerra and Kyrgyzstan because Kumtor's wealth leaves the country so there is disappointment on the Kyrgyzstan side. We are proposing a way to resolve that disappointment and for Centerra shareholders to get a big pile of cash."

He argued Centerra's shares were trading at a discount to their fair value because of frequent disagreements with the Kyrgyzstan authorities and past problems in getting cash out of a jurisdiction viewed as relatively risky.

"A re-rating would be possible for Centerra which has been using Kumtor cashflow to diversify by acquiring assets in North America to ease their risk profile," he said.

Under the proposed transaction, which Volynets says is backed by two major financial institutuions, Chaarat would pay $400 million in cash, and, subject to approval from the Kyrgyzstan government, $400 million of Centerra's shares held by Kyrgyzaltyn would transfer to Centerra and get cancelled. In exchange, Kyrgyzaltyn would get the right to 50% of Kumtor's free cashflow.

The move would be ideal for Chaarat, explained Volynets, as the company already had exploration and development projects in Kyrgyzstan. "In time we aim to build another Kumtor," he said.

The businessman, who lives in London and has dual UK and Russian nationality, claimed to have good contacts in the new Kyrgyz administration. He was confident he could get the support of parliament in a transparent and open process.

Some Canadian banks such as CIBC have dismissed the offer from Chaarat. CIBC said in a note that the offer was not good enough even though it would reduce Centerra's geopolitical risk profile.

But shareholders contacted by Mining Journal appeared to favour further exploration of the Chaarat offer.

A top 10 shareholder, speaking on the basis of anonymity, told Mining Journal: "We hope management would weigh carefully any offer that could be value-accretive. We would like to know more about this offer."

Another said: "On its face, the Chaarat proposal looks worthy of further exploration. Has Centerra carried out a proper assessment of the offer? Kyrgyz issues have been a headache for years and will remain a headache," he said.

Centerra did not reply to phone calls requesting a comment for this article.

[smiley17] 20/6/2018 10:20

Regret cannot access to full article :

[casual47] 20/6/2018 09:46

While we are waiting for news.....

"Has the Kyrgyz economy stalled?

[jc2706] 19/6/2018 11:55

Well, they are planning to do a hell of a lot of it in the next couple of years so there should be a constant stream of results during the season.

[casual47] 19/6/2018 11:20

Could there be a drilling results RNS on the cards prior to AGM?