The Chatree Gold Mine. Source: Kingsgate Consolidated
The Market Online - At The Bell

Join our daily newsletter At The Bell to receive exclusive market insights

  • Kingsgate Consolidated (KCN) has received four outstanding mining leases required to operate the Chatree Gold Mine in Thailand as it gears up to restart mining operations
  • The company has also completed all necessary steps to have a Metallurgical Processing Licence for the project renewed and approved
  • The mine was shut by the Thai Government in 2016, and Kingsgate has been fighting to get it up and running ever since
  • TDG Gold Corp has scrapped a deal to buy Kingsgate’s Nueva Esperanza gold and silver project in Chile despite having already made over $1.6 million in non-refundable payments for the purchase
  • Shares in Kingsgate Consolidated are down 0.45 per cent at $2.21 at 12.16pm AEDT

Kingsgate Consolidated (KCN) has received four outstanding mining leases required to operate the Chatree Gold Mine in Thailand as it gears up to restart mining operations.

In a separate development, Kingsgate’s deal with TSXV-listed TDG Gold Corp for the sale of the Nueva Esperanza project in Chile has fallen through, meaning Kingsgate will look for other potential buyers.

Thailand mining restart progresses

The four leases granted to Kingsgate will each last for 10 years, effective from December 31, 2021. They include a lease that has been pending approval since 2011 and is required to fully optimise the A Pit at the Chatree mine.

Kingsgate said it has also completed all necessary steps to have a Metallurgical Processing Licence (MPL) for the project renewed and approved, and subsidiary Akara Resources will collect the MPL certificate from the Thai Government “shortly”.

This means Kingsgate Consolidated is edging closer to restarting operations at the Chatree mine which the Thai Government has kept shut since 2016.

Kingsgate said it was busy finalising the capital expenditure needed to get the mine back up and running, and it has appointed a specialist recruitment agency to help hire critical technical staff to operate the mine.

With the Chatree restart on the way, Kingsgate said it was now focusing on upgrading the mineral resources and ore reserves statement for the mine.

The company said some terms of the mine restart were still under negotiation, but it recognised the “cooperation and goodwill shown by the Thai Government” by issuing the mining leases.

Chatree was once the largest gold mine in Thailand, according to Kingsgate, producing over 1.8 million ounces of gold and more than 10 million ounces of silver between 2001 and 2016.

However, the Government shut the mine in 2016 after announcing all gold mining in the country was to be banned.

Kingsgate launched legal action against the Government and the scuffle lasted until late last year when an arbitral tribunal greenlit the restarting of the mine.

Nueva Esperanza sale dropped

TDG Gold Corp says it is unable to proceed with the planned purchase of Kingsgate’s Nueva Esperanza project in Chile.

According to Kingsgate, TDG dropped the deal after recent drilling success at its Toodoggone Production Corridor in Canada. TDG now plans to put all its focus on this corridor, meaning Chile is no longer part of its strategy.

The news comes a bit out of left field given the last update Kingsgate gave investors on the Nueva Esperanza sale in December was that TDG had made C$1.5 million (A$1.67 million) in non-refundable payments for the purchase of the Chilean project.

Kingsgate said it had been approached by other parties with an interest in buying the project should the TDG deal be scrapped, so the company will follow up with these potential buyers.

Shares in Kingsgate Consolidated were down 0.45 per cent to $2.21 at 12.16pm AEDT. The company has a $491 million market cap.

KCN by the numbers
More From The Market Online

Week 13 Wrap: Easter bunny delivers new all time high for ASX200

Another week, another all time high. The ASX200 clocked 7,901pts on Thursday for the first time…
The Market Online Video

Market Close: Green lights up on ASX for Easter hunt go

The ASX200 closed the day in record territory - nearly a per cent up with every…

Market shrugs as Fisher & Paykel announces mass recall

Fisher & Paykel has initiated a voluntary limited recall of batches of Airvo 1 and my…
The Market Online Video

Market Update: ASX glows red hot with another hit record

The ASX200 is trading up, hitting a new high of 7901 point and eclipsing the last…