History
Centerra Gold fought and then negotiated over Kumtor with Kyrgyzstan, bought Goldfield, shrank its share count, and by 2026 was advancing Kemess and its molybdenum plans.
2021-2022: The Kumtor dispute
Centerra's story in this record opens in September 2021, when it said it was seeking urgent relief in international arbitration to stop the Kyrgyz Republic from damaging the integrity, value and long-term viability of the Kumtor Mine. The filings give no detail on what the Kyrgyz government had done or what relief Centerra wanted. By January 2022 the company confirmed it was in negotiations with the government, though the topics were not disclosed.
On April 4, 2022, those talks produced an agreement with Kyrgyzaltyn and the Kyrgyz government. Centerra would receive all of its own shares held by Kyrgyzaltyn in exchange for all rights to Kumtor. The deal depended on full and final releases of claims and the end of legal proceedings. The full global arrangement agreement was filed on April 11, and in June Centerra said it would hold a special meeting on the plan of arrangement. The filings seen here never show the meeting's outcome, the approvals or a closing, so the arrangement's completion is unconfirmed.
Shares on issue fell from 297,064,750 at the end of 2021 to 218,430,725 at the end of 2022. The beats do not explain this drop, so it should not be tied to any particular event.
2022-2024: A new project and a quieter stretch
While Kumtor was being negotiated, Centerra added a new asset. It announced the Goldfield District Development Project in Nevada on February 22, 2022, and completed the purchase on February 28. The price and terms were not in the filings.
The record then goes quiet. In February 2023 the company gave an update on its Öksüt Mine in central Türkiye after an earthquake, but the damage and production impact were not given. In February 2024 Centerra said it had met its 2023 production guidance and started 2024 with over $600 million in cash and cash equivalents. Shares on issue were 215,497,133 at the end of 2023 and 210,031,280 at the end of 2024, a gradual decline the beats do not explain directly.
In September 2024 the company released a feasibility study and strategic plan for its US molybdenum operations. It involved restarting the Thompson Creek Mine and ramping up Langeloth. The headline put the combined after-tax value (at an 8% discount rate) at $472 million, with a 22% internal rate of return.
2025: Resources and buybacks
In February 2025 Centerra published its 2024 year-end reserves and resources, including a first resource estimate at Goldfield. In May it reported first quarter results, approved up to $75 million to repurchase its own shares during 2025, and announced an updated resource at Kemess, a project in British Columbia, with studies continuing. Shares on issue ended 2025 at 199,806,355.
2026: Growth studies and a setback
The new year brought a run of news. On January 20 Centerra released a preliminary economic assessment for Kemess that it said showed strong economics, with an expanded resource and exploration upside. On January 21 it received permit amendments allowing Mount Milligan to operate through 2035.
On January 30 an explosion occurred at Langeloth, the US molybdenum facility. There were no fatalities or significant environmental releases, but operations were suspended. The extent of damage and the length of the suspension were not given.
In February the company published its 2025 year-end reserves and resources, with gold reserves up 58% and copper reserves up 49%. On March 10 it filed the full technical report on Kemess, dated March 4, 2026. As of that date, the Kumtor arrangement remained unconfirmed in the filings, Langeloth was suspended, and Kemess was moving through its studies.
Written from the 17 story beats below (2021 to 10 Mar 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.