Kinross upbeat on turnaround of Tasiast project in West Africa – by Ian McGugan (Globe and Mail – May 11, 2016)

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Kinross Gold Corp., one of the hottest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange this year, says it is on track with its plan to turn around its problem-plagued Tasiast project in West Africa.

The Toronto-based miner announced on Tuesday that it has completed a prefeasibility study for the second phase of an expansion that it says has the potential to transform the project into the company’s largest mine.

In March, Kinross committed to an initial phase of the project. The goal is to revive the fortunes of Tasiast, which has been a steady money loser since Kinross’s previous management bought the mine in Mauritania near the height of the mining boom in 2010 for $7.1-billion (U.S.).

Kinross’s share price has soared more than 180 per cent since the start of January. Its leap largely reflects investors’ renewed enthusiasm for gold and gold stocks, but the stock’s remarkable gain also appears to demonstrate hope that Tasiast might finally begin to produce a profit.

“This has been the year in which we seem to have finally turned a corner,” Paul Rollinson, Kinross’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. He said investors have responded enthusiastically to the company’s plans for Tasiast as well as its new mines in Nevada.

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