Canadian Centerra Gold Inc intends to invest about $25 million in further geological exploration to extend the life of the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan, Chief Executive Officer of Centerra Gold Inc., Scott Perry, said during his meeting with Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sapar Isakov on April 4.
Kumtor, the largest gold mine in Central Asia, is located in Kyrgyzstan’s Tien Shan mountains. Canada-based Centerra owns 100% of the Kumtor mine through its wholly owned subsidiary Kumtor Gold Company. The Kyrgyz Republic holds 26.6% shares in Centerra through the state gold company KyrgyzAltyn.
The Kyrgyz Prime Minister and Centerra’s CEO discussed the development prospects of Kumtor Gold Company and expressed interest in deepening cooperation. Kyrgyzstan and Centerra are consistently fulfilling the terms of the strategic agreement signed on September 11, 2017, Isakov said.
According to Scott Perry, the Kumtor Gold Company (KGC) has done its utmost to implement the recommendations of the International Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), which the Kyrgyz Government attracted as an independent international consultant to improve the environmental situation at the Kumtor mine.
Isakov also spoke on extending the life of the mine, which, according to experts and official documents, is expected to operate no more than 8-10 years.
Since 2012, Centerra Gold has not invested in geological exploration of Kumtor because there were some disagreements between the Kyrgyz Government and the company.
After the conclusion of the new agreement, the company decided to resume investments in geological exploration, and to extend the mine’s life. The company will invest about $25 million in geological exploration, Perry said.
The meeting discussed the latest positive changes in the company. The KGC top management of five persons currently includes three Kyrgyz citizens. The company provides jobs to about five thousand local specialists and is the largest taxpayer in the private sector of Kyrgyzstan.
