Centerra Gold 2015 year-end reserve and resource update

Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX: CG) today issued its 2015 year-end estimates for reserves and resources. The Company has used a gold price of $1,200 per ounce as the basis for its reserve estimates.

Highlights:

• Centerra’s proven and probable reserves increased 9% to 8.4 million ounces of contained gold (112.5 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold) from 7.7 million contained ounces a year ago.
• At Centerra’s 100% owned Öksüt Project in Turkey, the Company announced a positive feasibility study in 2015. As a result of this study, the measured and indicated resources on both the Keltepe and
  Güneytepe deposits were upgraded to an estimated probable reserve of 26.1 million tonnes at 1.4 g/t gold containing 1.2 million ounces of gold at a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t gold.
• At the Gatsuurt Project in Mongolia, the Mongolian Parliament, after having designated Gatsuurt as a mineral deposit of strategic importance in 2015, approved a 34% state ownership interest in the
  project on February 4, 2016. Under the Minerals Law, the Government is able to substitute the state ownership with a special royalty. In this regard, the Government can now implement the previously
  agreed upon 3% special royalty in place of a 34% state ownership interest in Gatsuurt. See the Company’s news releases of February 4, 2016, October 27, 2015 and January 23, 2015. The gold
  mineral reserves and resources at Gatsuurt remain unchanged from the 2014 year-end statement.

Scott Perry, CEO of Centerra Gold said: “In 2015, our total reserves increased by 9% to 8.4 million ounces of gold. At the Öksüt Project, we successfully converted resources to reserves with the positive feasibility study released in July, which contributed to the increase in our overall reserve base. Now that Mongolian Parliament passed the Gatsuurt ownership resolution, we expect to proceed with negotiating definitive
agreements and carry out additional exploration drilling to expand the Gatsuurt resource base as well as geotechnical and hydrogeological drilling in support of eventual project development. The addition to reserves at Öksüt and Gatsuurt advancing to the next step continues to diversify our operations portfolio and solidify our growth pipeline.”

As previously disclosed, Greenstone Gold Mines expects to complete a feasibility study for the Greenstone Gold Mine’s Hardrock Deposit by the middle of 2016. Greenstone mineral resources have not been included in the Company’s 2015 year-end reserve and resource summary since the feasibility study is expected midyear, at which time the mineral reserve and resource inventory will be disclosed for Greenstone. When completed the Company expects to file a NI 43-101 technical report including a statement of reserves and resources, on SEDAR.

Year-end Gold Reserves and Resources
Reserves

At the end of 2015, Centerra’s estimated proven and probable gold reserves increased by 666,000 contained ounces, after accounting for processing of 658,000 contained ounces in 2015. Centerra’s proven and probable reserves now total an estimated 8.4 million ounces of contained gold (112.5 Mt at 2.3 g/t gold), compared to 7.7 million contained ounces as of December 31, 2014. The reserve increase is primarily a result of the positive feasibility study on the Öksüt Project where resources were upgraded to reserves in June 2015. The 2015 year-end reserves have been verified and estimated using a gold price of $1,200 per ounce.

At the Kumtor mine, in the Kyrgyz Republic, proven and probable gold reserves decreased by 495,000 contained ounces, after accounting for processing of 658,000 contained ounces in 2015. In 2015, reconciliation of production against the KS2014YE resource model was very good for total ounces produced, but the model continued to over-estimate tonnage in the +3 g/t fraction and under-estimate tonnage in the 1.1 g/t to 3 g/t fraction. For this reason, a new resource model, KS2015YE was developed for 2015 year-end reserve estimation and to incorporate additional in-fill drilling that had been completed during the year. As a
result, 164,000 contained ounces were added and Kumtor’s proven and probable reserves now total an estimated 5.6 million ounces of contained gold (69.2 Mt at 2.5 g/t gold) including 4.1 million contained
ounces of gold (44.3 Mt at 2.8 g/t gold) in the Central Pit at the end of December 2015.This compares to the previous total of proven and probable reserves at Kumtor of 6.1 million ounces as of December 31, 2014.

In Mongolia, at the Boroo mine, the 16,226 ounces of gold produced in 2015 came from secondary leaching of the heap leach pad and from the Boroo mill clean out. The Boroo heap leach operation is transitioning into closure and the mill is on care and maintenance awaiting a positive decision on the Gatsuurt Project. At the Gatsuurt Project proven and probable reserves are unchanged from 2014 and total more than 1.6 million contained ounces of gold (17.1 Mt at 2.9 g/t gold).

In Turkey, at the Öksüt Project, the proven and probable reserves are unchanged from the June 30, 2015 reserve and resource summary and contain 1.2 million ounces of gold (26.1 Mt at 1.4 g/t gold). The Company is currently working on updating the resource model with additional drill results obtained in 2015.

Resources

As of December 31, 2015, Centerra’s measured and indicated resources decreased by 1.5 million contained ounces to an estimated total of 4.2 million ounces of contained gold (66.6 Mt at 2.0 g/t gold) compared to the December 31, 2014 estimate. The change is primarily a result of, a decrease of 1.2 million contained ounces in the measured and indicated resources at the Öksüt Project.

At the 100% owned Öksüt Project in Turkey, measured and indicated resources total an estimated 156,000 ounces of contained gold (6.8 Mt at 0.7 g/t gold), a decrease of 1.2 million ounces from December 31, 2014.
This decrease resulted from converting 1.0 million contained ounces to proven and probable reserves at the Keltepe deposit and converting 125,000 contained ounces in the Güneytepe deposit to proven and probable reserves.

At Kumtor measured and indicated open pit resources decreased by 240,000 contained ounces of gold, to an estimated total 2.6 million contained ounces of gold (29.6 Mt at 2.7 g/t gold) at December 31, 2015.
Kumtor’s open pit measured resources increased by 313,000 contained ounces to an estimated 1.8 million contained ounces (19.5 Mt at 2.9 g/t gold) while indicated resources decreased by 553,000 contained ounces of gold to an estimated 777,000 contained ounces of gold (10.2 Mt at 2.4 g/t gold). These changes are attributable to the development of the new KS2015YE resource model, as discussed above, resulting in the lower grade and fewer ounces.

As of December 31, 2015, Centerra’s inferred resource estimate totals 2.6 million contained ounces of gold (24.5 Mt at 3.3 g/t gold) an increase of 133,000 contained ounces of gold over the December 31, 2014
estimate.

At Kumtor, 1.7 million estimated ounces of gold (4.7 Mt at 10.9 g/t gold) are contained within the high-grade underground inferred resources in the SB and Stockwork Zones. There was a minor positive change in the 2015 year-end inferred underground resource estimate at the Stockwork Zone due to the reclassification of 54,000 contained ounces to the inferred category from the indicated resource category a year earlier.

The 2015 year-end resource estimates for Boroo, Gatsuurt, ATO and Ulaan Bulag properties in Mongolia are unchanged from 2014 year-end estimates.

Read full press release here: