Chaarat Gold says definitive study at flagship development nears completion

Chaarat Gold’s (LON:CGH) definitive feasibility study for its flagship gold project in the Kyrgyz Republic is on schedule and nearly ready. “NERIN is nearing the completion of the feasibility study, which will assist in underpinning the value of the deposit,” chief executive Dekel Golan said in its annual report. The company made the decision to use NERIN, a Chinese firm, to carry out the study because of the location and potential financing options. Golan said: “We identified China as the primary source for both machinery and finance and therefore we agreed it would be logical to use a Chinese company to prepare the feasibility study for the Chaarat Project. The study has indicated already that Chaarat will not need to construct a tunnel in the early stages of the project, he said, which would contribute significantly to NPV as well as reducing the upfront capital cost and project risk. Additional drilling has also increased the resource to 6.1mln ounces (JORC compliant). Chaarat expects to build the operation in two stages, ultimately producing 250,000 ounces of the precious metal a year. The first stage will focus on the easy-to-process oxide component of the resource. Golan added that with its on the Chaarat project, it does not have the funds to progress its projects at Chontash, Mironovskoye and Kyzil Ompul, all of which have now be written off with the company hoping to find buyers for all three. Losses in 2014 fell slightly to US$13.6mln (US$14.4mln). Cash at the year-end was US$7.6mln.