The Kingsgate Consolidated Limited (ASX: KCN) share price is looking to finish Friday's session deep in the red.
This comes after the company provided an update regarding its ongoing discussions with the Thai government.
At the time of writing, the gold miner's shares are down 11.11% to $1.48 apiece. In comparison, the All Ordinaries (ASX: XAO) is down 0.73% to 7,540.4 points.
Let's take a look at what the company announced to the ASX today.
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Kingsgate progresses on Chatree, delays TAFTA
According to its release, Kingsgate is progressing with the Thai government on restarting the Chatree Gold Mine.
Located around 280 kilometres north of Bangkok, Chatree was historically a large-scale, low-grade, open-pit gold mine. However, in May 2016, the Thai government announced that the mine would close following accusations that villagers were poisoned by toxic waste. This led to all operations ceasing by the end of 2016, and Chatree was placed on 'care and maintenance' thereafter.
Further to the release, Kingsgate has mutually agreed to hold the issuance of the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement (TAFTA) award.
The news of yet another delay has left investors frustrated, giving cause to sell off Kingsgate shares.
The date has been pushed back until 31 December 2022, which provides an opportunity for Kingsgate to get its affairs in order. Originally, the TAFTA award by the arbitral tribunal was scheduled for 31 October 2021, and then again 31 January 2022.
Kingsgate is working to optimise the restart process for Chatree, which could possibly include the initial refurbishment of plant number two. This would allow access to the current low-grade stockpile of 6.6 million tonnes of ore for processing. It is estimated that there are 73,000 ounces of gold and 780,000 ounces of silver.
Management comment
Kingsgate executive chair, Ross Smyth-Kirk commented:
It's pleasing that we can engage in a mutual dialogue with the Thai Government about restarting Chatree, and at the same time deal with the TAFTA framework in a sensible and constructive manner. There is no downside to Kingsgate for the TAFTA award to be held for a further period, and I want to make it abundantly clear that this in no way impacts the restart of the Chatree Gold Mine.
About the Kingsgate share price
Over the past 12 months, Kingsgate shares have accelerated by more than 60%, but year to date they are down 23%.
The company presides a market capitalisation of about $328.66 million with approximately 221.32 million shares on its books.
