Kinross Gold Corp. announced a $2.4-billion impairment charge because of lower gold price assumptions and a previously announced loss on an Ecuadorian project that the miner abandoned a few months ago.

The latest charge brings the company’s writedowns to $8-billion over the past year and a half, exceeding Kinross’s market capitalization of about $6.1-billion.

“Kinross has made good strides to improve the costs at the existing assets and has beat consensus earnings for three successive quarters. However, BMO Research forecasts balance sheet pressure at prevailing metal prices in the absence of further cost reductions, capital conservation and possibly lower dividend,” he said.

Tye Burt... you, sleazy fast double talking used car saleman = that passed for a CEO, should return every dime you were paid in compensation.

you made a bad call on the equinox acquisition which will probably bankrupt the company.

your reign over kinross will go down in history as one of the greatest blunders in business. ever.

Waiting to see 43101 resource statement coming out of the Western Sonora. This mine gave the stock problems because of the discrepancy between the consultants’ estimates of ore and what they actually found. Meanwhile have been developing adjacent properties and he fully expects reserves on these properties plus what Western Sonora can produce will lead to an expansion of the mill from 1500 tons a day to 1700 tons. This will be very bullish for the stock. Next major hurdle is the decision on the 4000 time a day mill on Platte River property. He is ready to pounce once the 43101 comes out.

The stock has had a million+ shares cross the table, on 5 days during the month of Aug, with no big news coming out so obviously there must be some positive news driving it?

TORONTO - A group of shareholders announced Monday a class action lawsuit against Kinross Gold Corp. (TSX:K) and several of its senior officers, alleging misrepresentation involving a mine in Mauritania and seeking $4 billion in damages.

The plaintiffs are the trustees of the Musicians' Pension Fund of Canada and have begun the action on behalf of all investors who purchased Kinross shares from Feb. 16, 2011, through January 16, 2012 on the Toronto Stock Exchange or other secondary market in Canada.

The plaintiffs, whose allegations have not been proven in court, contend there were misrepresentations in Kinross's public disclosure relating to its Tasiast mine in Africa. Kinross had acquired the Tasiast mine in September 2010 as part of its acquisition of Red Back Mining Inc..

The alleged misrepresentations include statements relating to the quantity and quality of gold ore at the Tasiast mine and the results of Kinross' drilling program at the mine.

"Shareholders have lost billions of dollars as a result of management's repeated assurances that the mine in Mauritania was a viable mine with substantial reserves," said Kirk Baert, a partner with Koskie Minsky LLP in Toronto.

"Now they want to write down $2.49 billion in goodwill just 18 months after the purchase of the mine. Something is very wrong here."

Kinross acquired full ownership of the Tasiast open-pit gold mine in 2010 after buying Red Back Mining Inc. for $7.1 billion in a share swap transaction.

It announced the writedown in February, saying it reflected the company's estimate of what the project is now worth as it moves to expand the mine over the next few years.

However, Kinross president and CEO Tye Burt struck a optimistic note at the time concerning the mine, saying the company would focus on that project ahead of others in the pipeline.

"Tasiast gets first call on the capital given its high returns,'' Burt said in an interview.

QUITO, March 5 (Reuters) - Ecuador's President Rafael Correa on Tuesday signed the country's first ever large-scale mining contract, which calls for Chinese-owned Ecuacorriente to invest $1.4 billion in the El Mirador copper project.

Ecuador has no mining industry to speak of and Correa, a U.S. trained economist, is eager to attract investment to tap the country's big copper, gold and silver deposits and diversify the economy from its dependency on oil exports.

Correa is trying to reap lofty benefits from miners and negotiations with Ecuacorriente and Canada's Kinross, which plans to develop the Fruta del Norte gold project, have taken much longer than initially expected.

"Comrades, today marks the beginning of a new era in Ecuador ... this will be the first large-scale exploitation project," he said adding that his government is set to receive high revenues from El Mirador, which it would spend on roads, schools and hospitals ahead of the 2013 election.

Including royalties, value-added taxes, income tax and other duties, Ecuacorriente will pay the state about 52 percent of its revenue

The government says with El Mirador, Ecuador will become the state with the highest benefits from a mining project.

"The contract marks ... a political win for Correa, whose strategy has been to push to the absolute limit the amount of money that he can extract from the sector while still ensuring that several major foreign-owned projects move forward," Eurasia Group analyst Risa Grais-Targow said in a statement.

El Mirador, an open-pit project in the southern Zamora Chinchipe region, will pay royalties of between 5 percent and 8 percent, depending on copper prices, and should start production at the end of 2014. The government estimates there are 4,738 million pounds (2.15 million tonnes) tonnes of copper reserves at the site.

Grais-Targow said Ecuacorriente may have been more willing to accept the tough terms demanded by the OPEC-member country because it is a state-owned company and because China has become a key source of financing for the Correa government.

Ecuador signed a $2 billion credit deal with China in June and in October it signed a pact for a $571 million loan with a Chinese bank, which took total debt commitments to China to around $7.3 billion, including loans, advance payments for oil sales, and energy project financing.

MORE CONTRACTS?

Toronto-listed Kinross signed a tentative agreement in December to invest $1.2 billion, according to the government. But last month Kinross said it wanted to re-negotiate the deal in a bid to obtain more favorable economic terms.

The government has warned that negotiations could fall through because Kinross was making demands that were "over the top."

Analysts say the tough terms of the deals and the risks of doing business in a socialist country could deter miners from investing in Ecuador.

Ecuador is set to negotiate contracts this year with International Minerals over its Rio Blanco gold-silver project, with Ecuacorriente over its Panantza-San Carlos copper deposit

and with IAMGOLD which plans to develop the Quimsacocha gold-copper-silver mine.

QUITO (MarketWatch) -- Ecuador's minister of non-renewable natural resources, Wilson Pastor, said Wednesday that the contract to let Canadian gold-mining company Kinross Gold Corp. (KGC, K.T) mine the Fruta del Norte deposit should be signed later in December or early January.

Fruta del Norte is located in Zamora Chinchipe Province.

Kinross said Monday that it had reached a non-binding agreement in principle with Ecuador's government for the exploitation of Fruta del Norte.

Pastor said Wednesday at a press conference that a final agreement has been signed and the next step is to sign the respective contract. Ecuador would start large-scale mining production in 2014 with gold production coming from Fruta del Norte, according to Pastor.

Kinross is expected to invest $1.1 billion to build the mine and other production facilities.

Meanwhile, President Rafael Correa's administration is negotiating to sign mining contracts with Ecuacorriente, a company controlled by the China Railway Construction Corp. (601186.SH, 1186.HK) and the Tongling Nonferrous Metals Group Co. for the Mirador copper project, and with the local unit of International Minerals Corp. (IMZLF, IMZ.T) for its Rio Blanco project.

WHO KNOWS WAT THE PRICE OF GOLD WILL BE WHEN THEY FINALLY EXTRACT THE FIRST OUNCE?

Pastor said that royalties from the gold contracts will be between 5% and 8%, while royalties for copper will be between 6% and 8%, depending on gold and copper prices.

TORONTO, ONTARIO, Dec 05, 2011 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Kinross Gold Corporation CA:K -1.00% KGC -0.59% announced today it has reached a non-binding agreement in principle with the government of Ecuador regarding key fiscal and legal parameters for the exploitation of the Fruta del Norte (FDN) deposit in Ecuador's Zamora Chinchipe province.

A number of additional steps are required to conclude a final and binding agreement, including: the completion and approval of the project feasibility study by Kinross; a change in project status from economic evaluation to exploitation in accordance with Ecuadorian law; and, following the completion of negotiations, entering into definitive exploitation and investment protection agreements in a form satisfactory to the parties.

"This agreement represents an important milestone in the development of FDN," said Kinross President and CEO Tye Burt. "Key objectives are to develop the mineral resources at FDN in a socially responsible manner and to work closely with the government and local communities to establish FDN as a flagship mining project in Ecuador."

The key terms of the agreement in principle include the following:

An obligation to maintain the government's share of project economic

            benefits at a minimum of 52%. Project economic benefits are defined as

            the cumulative sum of the Government's share (comprised of the royalty,

            corporate income tax, the state portion of the profit sharing

            contribution, and windfall profit tax, as described below, plus a 12%

            value added tax applied to customary project expenditures) and Kinross'

            share (comprised of the after tax free cash flows of the project),

            calculated annually;

        --  A sliding-scale net smelter return royalty linked to the realized gold

            price, with a royalty of 5% for gold sold at a price of $1,200 per ounce

            or less, 6% for gold sold above $1,200 up to $1,600 per ounce, 7% for

            gold sold above $1,600 up to $2,000 per ounce, and 8% for gold sold

            above $2,000 per ounce. The net smelter return royalty is calculated on

            the basis of revenues after the deduction of windfall profits tax

            payments (see below) and customary transportation and refining charges;

        --  Advance royalties of $65 million credited against future royalty

            obligations and payable in two installments, subject to various project

            development conditions;

        --  A corporate income tax rate of 22%, to be fixed under the proposed terms

            of the investment protection agreement;

        --  A profit sharing contribution equal to 15% of earnings before tax, to be

            fixed under the proposed terms of the investment protection agreement.

            This 15% contribution includes two components, with 12% to be paid to

            the State and 3% to be paid to employees. Profit sharing contributions

            are deductible expenses for the purpose of calculating corporate income

            tax;

        --  A windfall profits tax, whereby the government would receive 70% of the

            excess of the realized gold price above an agreed base gold price. The

            base gold price is defined as the greater of $1,650 per ounce and the

            spot gold price at the time of signing of the definitive exploitation

            agreement. The base price is indexed to the United States Consumer Price

            Index (CPI) on a monthly basis. The windfall profits tax would be

            deductible for the purpose of calculating royalties, profit sharing

            contributions and corporate income taxes;

        --  An exemption from customs duties payable on capital goods to be

            purchased during construction, as approved by the Ecuadorian government;

        --  Electrical power to be provided from the national grid at the industrial

            customer rate (currently 6.8 cents/KWH);

        --  Disputes arising between the parties will generally be subject to

            customary dispute resolution mechanisms including binding arbitration in

            Chile under UNCITRAL Rules;

        --  If new Ecuadorian laws are passed that adversely impact the fiscal and

            economic parameters of the exploitation agreement, the right of Kinross

            to seek amendments to the fiscal parameters of the exploitation

            agreement to preserve the original economic equilibrium and/or seek any

            remedies, pursuant to customary dispute resolution mechanisms;

        --  Kinross undertaking various social infrastructure initiatives to benefit

            local communities, including the construction of a road and training

            center, airport improvements, and contributions to local social programs

            through domestic and international not-for-profit partners selected by

            Kinross.

        

        

Kinross is finalizing a project feasibility study, expected to be completed at year-end 2011. As previously disclosed, the Company is experiencing industry-wide escalation on FDN project costs, and both capital and operating costs for the project are expected to be approximately 25-30% higher than estimates included in the project pre-feasibility study. Kinross and the Ecuadorian government are currently completing negotiations and drafting of the definitive exploitation and investment protection agreements.

About Kinross Gold Corporation

Kinross is a Canadian-based gold mining company with mines and projects in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Ecuador, Ghana, Mauritania, Russia and the United States, employing approximately 8,000 people worldwide.