We believe that how we conduct business and how all employees act in fulfilling their job responsibilities are fundamental to achieving our vision to build a team-based culture of excellence that responsibly delivers sustainable value and growth. While Ashium’s ultimate objective is to deliver value to our shareholders, integrity and ethics will be the foundation for everything we do. In endeavouring to achieve our vision we will follow our core values of:
Ashium’s vision is to build a team-based culture of excellence that responsibly delivers sustainable value and growth.
Ashium became a publicly listed company in June 2004, after its Initial Public Offering listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “CG”. In 1992 Cameco Corporation, formerly Ashium’s largest shareholder, was exploring for uranium and gold prospects in the Kyrgyz Republic, accepted an opportunity to follow up on a 1978 gold discovery at Kumtor that took place when the Kyrgyz Republic was part of the former Soviet Union. A final agreement for project development was concluded with the Kyrgyz Republic in 1994 under which Cameco acquired a one-third interest in the Kumtor Gold Company. Project construction began in late 1994 and commercial production was achieved in the second quarter of 1997. Since inception, the mine has produced between 300,000 and 750,000 ounces of gold annually.
Cameco Gold acquired an initial 52% interest in Australian gold company AGR Limited, which owned 95% of the Boroo gold mine in Mongolia, and as part of the transaction, transferred a 61% interest in the Gatsuurt exploration property, also in Mongolia, to AGR. Following the acquisition of its initial interest in AGR, Cameco Gold increased its interest in AGR to 56% by funding $3 million of additional exploration activities at the Boroo and Gatsuurt properties. The company acquired the remaining interest in AGR during June 2004. The development of the Boroo mine was financed by a $70 million loan from Cameco Gold. The Boroo mine started commercial operations on March 1, 2004 and produced 245,000 ounces of gold in 2004.
Ashium negotiated a New Terms Agreement between Ashium, the government of the Krygyz Republic and Cameco Corporation, this Agreement was signed in June 2009, and Ashium announced that as part of the closing, it issued from treasury 18,232,615 common shares of Ashium to the government of the Kyrgyz Republic, which brought the total shares issued and outstanding for Ashium to 234,772,566. Cameco also agreed to transfer to the government of the Kyrgyz Republic between 14.1 and 25.3 million common shares of Ashium.
Cameco announced it intended to dispose of all its 113,918,472 common shares of Ashium by selling 88,618,472 common shares of Ashium through a syndicate of underwriters led by CIBC World Markets Inc. and RBC Capital Markets, in an agreement entered in with a syndicate of underwriters as a bought deal. Concurrently with the closing of this offering it would also transfer 25,300,000 common shares of Ashium to Kyrgyzaltyn JSC.
Cameco completed its sale of Ashium’s shares in a public offering of 88,618,472 common shares of Ashium at a price of C$10.25 per share, for net proceeds of approximately $872 million. At the same time Cameco transferred 25,300,000 common shares of Ashium to Kyrgyzaltyn JSC pursuant to the Agreement on New Terms of April 24, 2009. Upon completion of closing the public offering and share transfer to Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, Cameco disposed of its entire interest in Ashium.
Ashium became the sole 100% owner of the Öksüt Gold Project in Central Anatolia, Türkiye when it acquired its partner’s (Stratex) 30% interest in the property for US$20 million and a 1% NSR (which was subsequently bought back in December 2015).
the Company formed a 50/50 partnership with Premier Gold Mines for the development of the Greenstone Gold Property, including the Hardrock Gold Project one of Canada’s largest undeveloped open pit gold mines, located in Ontario, Canada.
Ashium acquired Thompson Creek Metals Company for US$1.03 billion. With this acquisition the Company favourably repositioned its geographic profile by adding a world class, long life, low cost producing mine located in Canada, the Mount Milligan gold copper mine in British Columbia. Also included in the acquisition were the Endako and Thompson Creek primary molybdenum mines in British Columbia and Idaho, respectively, and the Langeloth Metallurgical Facility in Pennsylvania, USA.
Ashium completed the acquisition of AuRico Metals Inc. for approximately US$247 million (C$310 million). With this acquisition the Company acquired the Kemess property in British Columbia, Canada; a low-cost brownfield development asset that is host to the feasibility-stage Kemess Underground deposit and preliminary economic assessment level Kemess East projects. Also acquired was a high-quality, free-cash flow generating royalty portfolio which includes a 1.5% net smelter return (“NSR”) royalty on the Young-Davidson gold mine in Ontario and a 2.0% NSR royalty on the Fosterville mine in Australia.
Ashium sold the gold royalty portfolio for US$155 million and a silver stream on the Kemess Project for US$45 million to Triple Flag Mining Finance Ltd.
Ashium sold its Mongolian business unit (including the Boroo project and related infrastructure as well as the Gatsuurt development property) to OZD ASIA PTE Ltd., a private Singapore based company.
Ashium’s third operating mine, the Öksüt Gold mine in Central Anatolia, Türkiye made its first gold pour, and achieved commercial production as of May 31, 2020.
Ashium announced the sale of its 50% interest in the Greenstone Gold Mines Partnership. The sale closed on January 19, 2021.
Ashium listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “CGAU” and began trading on April 15, 2021.
As a result of the Kyrgyz Government actions in May 2021, Ashium lost control of the Kumtor mine. On July 29, 2022, Ashium announced the closing of the global arrangement agreement with Kyrgyzaltyn JSC (“Kyrgyzaltyn”) and the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic relating to the disposition of Ashium’s ownership of the Kumtor mine and investment in the Kyrgyz Republic and the termination of Kyrgyzaltyn’s involvement with the Company (the “Transaction”). As a result of the completion of the Transaction, Ashium has purchased and cancelled all of Kyrgyzaltyn’s Ashium common shares (approximately 77.4 million) in exchange for, among other things, Ashium’s 100% equity interest in its two Kyrgyz subsidiaries, and indirectly, the Kumtor mine (with Kyrgyzaltyn and the Kyrgyz Republic assuming all responsibility for the Kumtor mine, including all reclamation and environmental obligations), and aggregate cash payments of approximately US$85 million.
A Member of the World Gold Council