Centerra Gold’s Kemess Preliminary Economic Assessment Highlights Strong Economics that Support the Company’s Long-Term Growth Pipeline
Press Release
TORONTO, Jan. 19, 2026 Centerra Gold Inc. (“Centerra” or the “Company”) (TSX: CG) (NYSE: CGAU) is pleased to announce an updated mineral resource and the results of a PEA for its Kemess project (“Kemess” or the “Project”) in British Columbia, showing robust economics including an after-tax net present value (5%) (“NPV5%”) of $1.1 billion and an after-tax internal rate of return (“IRR”) of 16%, using long-term pricing of $3,000 per ounce gold and $4.50 per pound of copper.
President and CEO, Paul Tomory, commented, “The Kemess PEA represents an important step forward in advancing Centerra’s organic growth pipeline in British Columbia. The study builds on a significant mineral endowment, outlining a de-risked restart plan that leverages substantial existing infrastructure and employs an integrated development strategy based on conventional open pit and longhole open stoping underground mining operation. This approach supports strong economics, including an initial 15-year mine life with average annual production of 171,000 ounces of gold and 61 million pounds of copper (approximately 267,000 gold equivalent ounces), at an all-in sustaining cost (“AISC”) on a by-product basisNG of $971 per ounce. Given the significant unstreamed gold and copper production profile, the value of Kemess increases to $2.8 billion at spot metal prices.”
Paul Tomory continued, “The expanded resource estimate reflects a thorough and disciplined evaluation of the full body of available geological data across the site including additional drilling and technical work in the Nugget zone and the historical Kemess South deposit. The PEA evaluates only the Kemess Main and Kemess Underground areas, which represent approximately 47% of the total indicated and inferred resource tonnes, highlighting the potential for additional resources to be incorporated into future technical studies.”
Paul Tomory concluded, “The PEA also demonstrates the strategic opportunity Kemess represents as Centerra continues to advance its self-funded organic growth pipeline. We see an opportunity for Kemess to become Centerra’s second long-life gold-copper asset in British Columbia, complementing Mount Milligan and strengthening our presence in the Toodoggone, one of the most prospective mining jurisdictions in North America. Kemess represents a compelling growth opportunity, supported by strong economics and significant upside exploration potential in the deep Kemess Offset zone and along the Kemess East trend. We are now focused on ongoing exploration and advancing technical work towards a Pre-Feasibility Study expected in 2027.”
The Honourable, David Eby, Premier of British Columbia, commented “This is promising news for our province and Canada as a whole. Centerra’s continued interest reflects the incredible momentum we’re building in British Columbia’s mining sector. The potential reopening of the Kemess mine is one of several mining projects that will create thousands of good paying, family supporting jobs, and generate billions of dollars for our economy. Together with investors, communities, and First Nations, we are meeting the moment as the economic engine of a stronger and more independent Canada.”
Kemess Updated Resource and PEA Highlights
- Expanded mineral resource at Kemess enhances the project’s overall scale and supports its long-term production potential: The updated mineral resource contains 3.3 million ounces of gold and 1.1 billion pounds of copper in the indicated category, and 3.6 million ounces of gold and 1.2 billion pounds of copper in the inferred category. Details of the mineral resource are in the tables below. The resource estimate reflects a comprehensive evaluation of the available geological data across the site. Recent drilling and technical work included the Nugget zone and the historical Kemess South deposit, which when combined with the Kemess Main zone, emphasize the scale of the mineral resource at Kemess. The findings of this PEA are limited to the Kemess Main and Kemess Underground areas as a subset of the mineral resource.
- Strong project economics complemented by leverage to higher metal prices, enhance project attractiveness: The PEA confirms Kemess’s robust economics, including NPV5% of $1.1 billion and IRR of 16%, based on long-term gold and copper price assumptions of $3,000 per ounce and $4.50 per pound, respectively. The PEA mineral inventory of over 2.3 million ounces of gold and 851 million pounds of copper provides Kemess with strong leverage to rising metal prices, with further upside potential as ongoing exploration advances resource growth and confidence. At spot commodity prices of approximately $4,500 per ounce of gold and $6.00 per pound of copper, the after-tax NPV5% increases to $2.8 billion and the IRR increases to 29%.
- Streamlined project execution through integrated open pit and underground mining strategy: The Kemess PEA outlines a development approach in which open pit mining begins first, followed by the start of underground production approximately two years later. Once underground production commences, both mining methods operate concurrently for the remainder of the projected 15-year mine life. This integrated mine plan helps streamline the project execution, optimize the plant feed and utilize the existing infrastructure, while maintaining the expected timeline to first production in late 2031. Key critical-path items include the required BC Hydro sub-station upgrade, as well as permitting activities.
- Lowered execution risk resulting from existing infrastructure and staged capital investment: Kemess’s capital profile is structured to reflect the project’s development sequence, with open pit mining starting first and underground production added shortly thereafter. Approximately $771 million in initial non-sustaining capital expendituresNG is required to achieve first production from the open pit. This includes open pit capital stripping, construction of the underground conveyor system from Kemess Main to the Kemess South process plant, and refurbishment of the process plant and camp. An additional $277 million in expansionary non-sustaining capital expendituresNG will be invested over the two years following open pit start-up to support the commencement of underground operations. This includes underground development and the construction of a leach plant, which is expected to both improve overall gold recovery by approximately 14% and provide valuable optionality by enabling the processing of ore from potential satellite deposits in the future.
- Significant exploration upside across the property: In 2025, a total of 28 kilometres (“km”) of drilling was completed, focused on infill drilling at Kemess Main open pit, Kemess Underground and Nugget zones, as well as resource extension drilling at Kemess Offset. Results confirm the continuity of mineralization within the resource areas. Exploration programs planned for 2026 will prioritize additional infill drilling of the Kemess Main zone, and delineating porphyry mineralization at the Kemess Offset zone to evaluate underground mineable grades and potential continuity with the Kemess East resource. Future exploration opportunities may also include testing the eastern extensions of Kemess East to KEY and Hilda South targets.
- Potential to become Centerra’s second long-life gold-copper asset in British Columbia: With an estimated initial 15-year mine life and average annual production of 171,000 ounces of gold and 61 million pounds of copper (approximately 267,000 gold equivalent ounces assuming $3,000 per ounce gold, $4.50 per pound copper and $37.50 per ounce silver), Kemess has the scale and jurisdictional advantages to complement Mount Milligan as a cornerstone asset. Importantly, Kemess is unencumbered by a gold or copper stream, positioning the project to deliver stronger economics and greater value retention for Centerra. The PEA reinforces Kemess as a high-quality growth project, capable of contributing meaningful long-term gold and copper production and supporting strong future cash flow generation.
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