COPPER-GOLD: Water woes at Centerra’s Mount Milligan

BRITISH COLUMBIA – Tucked away in the latest quarterly report from Centerra Gold is the news of a water shortage at the Mount Milligan copper-gold mine 145 km northwest of Prince George. [caption id="attachment_1003724255" align="alignleft" width="200"] The lack of available water for the Mount Milligan copper-gold mine may cut output for the year. (Image: Centerra Gold)[/caption] The lack of snowfall last winter and a spring with less rainfall than expected have exacerbated the problem. Centerra has applied to the British Columbia government to access additional water sources through July 2020. The company believes it will receive the necessary approvals, but it has no indication of when that might be. Whatever the water situation, output in Q3 2018 will be reduced due to a 10-day unscheduled maintenance shutdown of the primary crusher in July. There is also a five-day BC Hydro maintenance shutdown in September. The bottom line is that output may be reduced to between 175,000 and 195,000 oz. of gold and 40 million to 47 million lb. of copper. If approval to access short term water sources is received in a timely fashion, second half throughput could be increased. Visit www.CenterraGold.com for more news about Mount Milligan.