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Centerra Gold's Kemess Preliminary Economic Assessment Highlights Strong Economics that Support the Company's Long-Term Growth Pipeline
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Centerra Gold’s Kemess Preliminary Economic Assessment Highlights Strong Economics that Support the Company’s Long-Term Growth Pipeline
Expanded mineral resource and strong exploration upside support long-term production potential
Streamlined project execution driven by integrated open pit and underground mining strategy
Existing infrastructure and staged capital investment result in lowered execution risk
This news release contains forward-looking information about expected future events that is subject to risks and assumptions set out in the “Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information” below. All figures are in United States dollars unless otherwise stated. All production figures reflect payable metal quantities and are on a 100% basis, unless otherwise stated. For references denoted with NG, refer to the “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” disclosures at the end of this news release for a description of these measures. The preliminary economic assessment (“PEA”) described in this news release is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
TORONTO, Jan. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Centerra Gold Inc. (“Centerra” or the “Company”) (TSX: CG) (NYSE: CGAU) is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource and the results of a PEA for its Kemess project (“Kemess” or the “Project”) in British Columbia, showing robust economics including an after-tax net present value (5%) (“NPV5%”) of $1.1 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 16%, using long-term pricing of $3,000 per ounce gold and $4.50 per pound of copper.
President and CEO, Paul Tomory, commented, “The Kemess PEA represents an important step forward in advancing Centerra’s organic growth pipeline in British Columbia. The study builds on a significant mineral endowment, outlining a de-risked restart plan that leverages substantial existing infrastructure and employs an integrated development strategy based on conventional open pit and longhole open stoping underground mining operation. This approach supports strong economics, including an initial 15-year mine life with average annual production of 171,000 ounces of gold and 61 million pounds of copper (approximately 267,000 gold equivalent ounces), at an all-in sustaining cost (“AISC”) on a by-product basisNG of $971 per ounce. Given the significant unstreamed gold and copper production profile, the value of Kemess increases to $2.8 billion at spot metal prices.”
Paul Tomory continued, “The expanded resource estimate reflects a thorough and disciplined evaluation of the full body of available geological data across the site including additional drilling and technical work in the Nugget zone and the historical Kemess South deposit. The PEA evaluates only the Kemess Main and Kemess Underground areas, which represent approximately 47% of the total indicated and inferred resource tonnes, highlighting the potential for additional resources to be incorporated into future technical studies.”
Paul Tomory concluded, “The PEA also demonstrates the strategic opportunity Kemess represents as Centerra continues to advance its self-funded organic growth pipeline. We see an opportunity for Kemess to become Centerra’s second long-life gold-copper asset in British Columbia, complementing Mount Milligan and strengthening our presence in the Toodoggone, one of the most prospective mining jurisdictions in North America. Kemess represents a compelling growth opportunity, supported by strong economics and significant upside exploration potential in the deep Kemess Offset zone and along the Kemess East trend. We are now focused on ongoing exploration and advancing technical work towards a Pre-Feasibility Study expected in 2027.”
The Honourable, David Eby, Premier of British Columbia, commented “This is promising news for our province and Canada as a whole. Centerra’s continued interest reflects the incredible momentum we’re building in British Columbia’s mining sector. The potential reopening of the Kemess mine is one of several mining projects that will create thousands of good paying, family supporting jobs, and generate billions of dollars for our economy. Together with investors, communities, and First Nations, we are meeting the moment as the economic engine of a stronger and more independent Canada.”
Kemess Updated Resource and PEA Highlights
Expanded mineral resource at Kemess enhances the project’s overall scale and supports its long-term production potential: The updated mineral resource contains 3.3 million ounces of gold and 1.1 billion pounds of copper in the indicated category, and 3.6 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of copper in the inferred category. Details of the mineral resource are in the tables below. The resource estimate reflects a comprehensive evaluation of the available geological data across the site. Recent drilling and technical work included the Nugget zone and the historical Kemess South deposit, which when combined with the Kemess Main zone, emphasize the scale of the mineral resource at Kemess. The findings of this PEA are limited to the Kemess Main and Kemess Underground areas as a subset of the mineral resource.
Strong project economics complemented by leverage to higher metal prices, enhance project attractiveness: The PEA confirms Kemess’s robust economics, including NPV5% of $1.1 billion and IRR of 16%, based on long-term gold and copper price assumptions of $3,000 per ounce and $4.50 per pound, respectively. The PEA mineral inventory of over 2.3 million ounces of gold and 851 million pounds of copper provides Kemess with strong leverage to rising metal prices, with further upside potential as ongoing exploration advances resource growth and confidence. At spot commodity prices of approximately $4,500 per ounce of gold and $6.00 per pound of copper, the after-tax NPV5% increases to $2.8 billion and the IRR increases to 29%.
Streamlined project execution through integrated open pit and underground mining strategy: The Kemess PEA outlines a development approach in which open pit mining begins first, followed by the start of underground production approximately two years later. Once underground production commences, both mining methods operate concurrently for the remainder of the projected 15-year mine life. This integrated mine plan helps streamline the project execution, optimize the plant feed and utilize the existing infrastructure, while maintaining the expected timeline to first production in late 2031. Key critical-path items include the required BC Hydro sub-station upgrade, as well as permitting activities.
Lowered execution risk resulting from existing infrastructure and staged capital investment: Kemess’s capital profile is structured to reflect the project’s development sequence, with open pit mining starting first and underground production added shortly thereafter. Approximately $771 million in initial non-sustaining capital expendituresNG is required to achieve first production from the open pit. This includes open pit capital stripping, construction of the underground conveyor system from Kemess Main to the Kemess South process plant, and refurbishment of the process plant and camp. An additional $277 million in expansionary non-sustaining capital expendituresNG will be invested over the two years following open pit start-up to support the commencement of underground operations. This includes underground development and the construction of a leach plant, which is expected to both improve overall gold recovery by approximately 14% and provide valuable optionality by enabling the processing of ore from potential satellite deposits in the future.
Significant exploration upside across the property: In 2025, a total of 28 kilometres (“km”) of drilling was completed, focused on infill drilling at Kemess Main open pit, Kemess Underground and Nugget zones, as well as resource extension drilling at Kemess Offset. Results confirm the continuity of mineralization within the resource areas. Exploration programs planned for 2026 will prioritize additional infill drilling of the Kemess Main zone, and delineating porphyry mineralization at the Kemess Offset zone to evaluate underground mineable grades and potential continuity with the Kemess East resource. Future exploration opportunities may also include testing the eastern extensions of Kemess East to KEY and Hilda South targets.
Potential to become Centerra’s second long-life gold-copper asset in British Columbia: With an estimated initial 15-year mine life and average annual production of 171,000 ounces of gold and 61 million pounds of copper (approximately 267,000 gold equivalent ounces assuming $3,000 per ounce gold, $4.50 per pound copper and $37.50 per ounce silver), Kemess has the scale and jurisdictional advantages to complement Mount Milligan as a cornerstone asset. Importantly, Kemess is unencumbered by a gold or copper stream, positioning the project to deliver stronger economics and greater value retention for Centerra. The PEA reinforces Kemess as a high-quality growth project, capable of contributing meaningful long-term gold and copper production and supporting strong future cash flow generation.
Summary of Kemess PEA Key Metrics
Summary of Kemess PEA Key Metrics(1)
Production
Type of operationOpen Pit & Underground
Mine Life (years)15
Total gold production (koz)2,323
Average annual gold production(2)(koz)171
Total copper production (Mlbs)851
Average annual copper production(2)(Mlbs)61
Total process plant feed (M tonnes)254,869
Average process plant throughput – post-2033 (tonnes per day “tpd”)50,000
Average gold grade (grams per tonne “g/t”)0.39
Average copper grade (%)0.18
Average gold recovery (%)74.5
Average copper recovery (%)88.2
Costs
Open pit mining cost per tonne mined ($/tonne)2.81
Underground mining cost per tonne mined(3)($/tonne)31.48
Processing cost per tonne processed ($/tonne)(4)6.11
General & Administrative (“G&A”) cost per tonne processed(5)($/tonne)3.83
Gold production costs per ounce sold ($/oz)1,401
All-in sustaining costs on a by-product basisNGper ounce sold ($/oz)971
Capital Expenditures
Initial non-sustaining capital expendituresNG(6)($ millions)771
Expansionary non-sustaining capital expendituresNG($ millions)277
Sustaining capital expendituresNG(7)($ millions)595
PEA Economics(8)
After-tax NPV5%($ millions)1,094
IRR (%)16.4
Economics at Spot Commodity Prices(9)
After-tax NPV5%($ millions)2,754
IRR (%)28.7
(1) The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. (2) 2033-2045 excluding start-up and ramp-down. (3) Underground mining cost includes underground operating development, drill and blast, paste backfill, underground crushing and conveying, production geology, equipment maintenance, and power costs. The underground mining costs were calculated using engineering estimates and benchmarks from similar operations. The direct underground mining costs are estimated at $23.51 (C$32.45) per ore tonne mined, including primary and secondary stoping. The underground operating development and ore conveying costs are estimated to be $7.59 (C$10.47) and $0.38 (C$0.52) per ore tonne mined. (4) Includes pumping costs to tailings storage facility. (5) Excludes corporate allocations and includes impact benefit agreement costs over life of mine (“LOM”). (6) Does not include lease payments of $40 million which impact net cash flow. (7) Does not include capital lease payments of $229 million which are included in the economics and costs above. (8) PEA economics are based on long-term prices of $3,000/oz gold and $4.50/lb. USD/CAD exchange rate assumptions are $1.38:1. (9) Economics at spot commodity prices assumes $4,500/oz gold and $6.00/lb copper over LOM. USD/CAD exchange rate assumptions are $1.38:1.
Kemess PEA Summary
Kemess is located in the highly prospective Toodoggone District in the northern interior of British Columbia. It was a past producing mine which benefits from significant infrastructure already on-site, including: a 380 km, 230 kilovolt power line; a 50,000 tpd nameplate processing plant in need of some refurbishment and equipment replacements; “mothballed” site infrastructure including a water treatment plant, camp, administration facilities, air strip, truck shop and warehouse which will require some refurbishment; and tailings storage using the previously mined pit as well as an existing tailings facility, which is capable of expansion.
Kemess is a gold-copper porphyry deposit, and the PEA outlines a development approach in which conventional truck-shovel open pit mining begins first, followed by the start of longhole open stoping underground operations approximately two years later. Once underground production commences, both mining methods operate concurrently for the remainder of the 15 year mine life. Average annual production is expected to be 171,000 ounces of gold and 61 million pounds of copper (approximately 267,000 gold equivalent ounces assuming $3,000 per ounce gold, $4.50 per pound copper and $37.50 per ounce silver), at an AISC on a by-product basisNG of $971 per ounce. This integrated mine plan helps streamline the project execution, optimize plant feed and utilize existing infrastructure, while maintaining the expected timeline to first production in late 2031. Key critical-path items include the required BC Hydro sub-station upgrade, as well as permitting activities.
The PEA includes the construction of a leach plant at Kemess, planned as part of the expansionary capital program. The plant is expected to increase overall gold recovery by approximately 14%, enhancing the project’s economics. In addition to improving recovery, it would provide valuable flexibility by enabling the processing of ore from potential satellite deposits in the future. The leach plant is expected to cost $116 million, including indirects and contingency, as part of the expansionary non-sustaining capital expendituresNG, starting in 2032.
Kemess will initially produce a gold-copper concentrate that will be shipped to a British Columbia port and then transported to overseas refineries for final processing, similar to Mount Milligan. With the addition of the leach plant as the underground operations come online, Kemess is expected to produce both a gold-copper concentrate and gold doré bars, with 82% of production to be in the form of concentrate.
The PEA estimates open pit mining costs to average $2.81 per tonne mined and underground mining costs, including development, to average $31.48 per tonne mined over the LOM. Processing costs are estimated to average $6.11 per tonne processed, and G&A costs are estimated to average $3.83 per tonne processed.
Kemess PEA Production and Cost Profile(1)
(1) AISC on a by-product basisNG is presented net of copper and silver revenues, after reflecting the impact of the silver stream.
Capital ExpendituresNG
Initial non-sustaining capital expendituresNG required to achieve first production from the open pit are estimated at $771 million, and focused mainly on open pit capital stripping, construction of the underground conveyor system from the Kemess Main zone to the Kemess South process plant, and refurbishment of the process plant, open pit infrastructure and camp. Approximately 30% of the initial non-sustaining capitalNG is allocated to stripping and underground development activities, with the remainder directed towards infrastructure construction and development.
An additional $277 million in expansionary non-sustaining capital expendituresNG will be invested following open pit start-up to support the commencement of underground operations. This includes underground development and the construction of a leach plant, which is expected to improve overall gold recovery by approximately 14%.
Sustaining capital expendituresNG over the LOM are estimated at approximately $595 million, averaging $98 million per year in the first six years, and $26 million per year over the remainder of the mine life. Sustaining capital in the early years includes a paste backfill plant for underground operations and the infrastructure and civil works required to transition tailings deposition to the Kemess South tailings storage facility.
The mining fleet is expected to be leased using equipment leases. The capital lease payments of approximately $40 million made during the initial project development period, are not included in the initial non-sustaining capital expendituresNG, but form part of the initial cash outflow prior to first production. Capital lease payments, including equipment and other leases, of $229 million, made after first production, are treated as sustaining capital lease payments and are not included in the sustaining capital expenditure estimates. Sustaining capital lease payments are included in the determination of the LOM AISC for the Project. Refer to the PEA LOM Summary table at the end of this news release for details on capital lease payments throughout the LOM.
A breakdown of the initial non-sustaining capitalNG is included in the table below.
Initial Non-Sustaining CapitalNGBreakdownTotal ($M)
Open pit conveyor system65
Open pit crusher25
Process plant refurbishment96
Kemess Main infrastructure53
General site infrastructure27
Tailings facility (existing Kemess South pit)9
Subtotal Infrastructure Directs275
Indirects110
Contingency115
Subtotal Infrastructure500
Capitalized open pit stripping124
Capitalized pre-production G&A101
Open pit fleet7
Open pit conveyor tunnel development39
Total Initial Non-Sustaining CapitalNG771
Non-sustaining lease payments40
Total Initial Non-Sustaining CapitalNGand Non-Sustaining Lease Payments811
NOTE: Totals may not sum due to rounding.
Updated Mineral Resource Estimate
The updated indicated mineral resource includes 244.4 million tonnes, with an average grade of 0.42 g/t gold and 0.21% copper, containing 3.3 million ounces of gold and 1.1 billion pounds of copper. The updated inferred mineral resource includes 299.6 million tonnes, with an average grade of 0.37 g/t gold and 0.19% copper, containing 3.6 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of copper. It reflects a gold and copper price assumption of $2,400 per ounce and $4.00 per pound, respectively, and incorporates additional ounces from the Nugget and Kemess South deposits resulting from recent drilling and technical work. For the purposes of the PEA mine plan and economics, only 47% of this updated indicated and inferred resource tonnes has been evaluated, limited to the Kemess Main and Kemess Underground deposits.
Kemess Gold Mineral Resources(1,2)
December 31, 2025April 15, 2025
Tonnes
(kt)Grade
(g/t Au)Contained Metal
(koz)Tonnes
(kt)Grade
(g/t Au)Contained Metal
(koz)
Indicated Resources
Open Pit – Kemess Main170,5130.301,668142,5700.321,467
Open Pit – Kemess South13,2040.37158---
Underground - Kemess UG33,2230.8287725,3470.91745
Underground - Kemess East27,4910.6456525,0740.66531
Total Indicated244,4310.423,269192,9900.442,742
Inferred Resources
Open Pit – Kemess Main237,0500.302,299124,4280.311,232
Open Pit – Kemess South1980.342---
Underground - Kemess UG20,0940.7448110,8210.96335
Underground - Kemess East42,2520.5777234,0100.60661
Total Inferred299,5930.373,555169,2600.412,228
NOTE: Totals may not sum due to rounding. (1) Refer to Tables “Centerra Gold Updated Kemess Resources Summary”, including the respective footnotes and the “Additional Footnotes” section at the end of the release. (2) The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.