Canada’s Centerra settles mine dispute with Kyrgyzstan, shares up – by Nicole Mordant and John Benny (Reuters Canada – September 11, 2017)

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(Reuters) – Canadian miner Centerra Gold Inc (CG.TO) said on Monday it has reached an agreement with Kyrgyzstan to settle all outstanding disputes with the Central Asian country over its Kumtor gold mine, the company’s and the country’s biggest.

All Kyrgyz environmental claims, other proceedings and court orders against Kumtor will be dropped and Centerra will be able to transfer funds out of the country that had been frozen by the government, the company said in a statement.Centerra’s shares rose 3 percent to a four-and-a-half year high of C$9.04 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Toronto-based Centerra is the biggest foreign investor and taxpayer in Kyrgyzstan, contributing up to 10 percent of the impoverished nation’s gross domestic product. The two sides had been on a collision course as the country tried to extract more profit from the mine.

The Kyrgyz Republic, through its state-owned entity, Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, owns a 26.6 percent stake in Centerra.

“We view this development as positive,” Canaccord Genuity analyst Rahul Paul said in a note to clients, adding that the settlement had been somewhat expected after Centerra said last week that talks were at an advanced stage.

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