Kumtor mine
| Kumtor mine | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| General information about the mine | |||
 |
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| other names | Kumtör | ||
| Mining technology | Open mine | ||
| Funding / year | 17.66 (2010) t | ||
| Funding / total | 311 (until 2016) t | ||
| Information about the mining company | |||
| Operating company | Centerra gold | ||
| Employees | 2678 | ||
| Start of operation | 1997 | ||
| Funded raw materials | |||
| Degradation of | gold | ||
| Geographical location | |||
| Coordinates | 41 ° 51 '28.8 " N , 78 ° 11' 45.6" E | ||
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| area | Issyk Kul region | ||
| Country | Kyrgyzstan | ||
The Kumtor Mine (in Kyrgyz Кумтөр Kumtör ) is the largest gold mine in Kyrgyzstan and of immense economic importance for the Central Asian country.
location
The Kumtor mine is located in the east of Kyrgyzstan in the Issyk Kul region . The mountain lake of the same name Issykköl is located north of the mine. The area around the mine is dominated by the Tianshan and hardly populated. The mine itself is located at an altitude of around 4,000 meters, making it the second highest commercially operated gold mine in the world.
Economical meaning
The Kumtor mine is extremely important for the Kyrgyz economy. It has contributed between 10 and 12% of the country's gross domestic product in recent years , is the country's largest non-state employer and taxpayer and represents 25% of industrial value added and 50% of the country's export income. 97.5% of the almost 3,000 workers in the gold mine are of Kyrgyz nationality.
history
Discovery of the occurrence
The gold deposits of today's Kumtor mine were discovered during the Soviet era as part of a geophysical expedition in 1978. In 1989, Ministry of Geology of the USSR published a report summarizing the result of a preliminary exploration . Those responsible came to the conclusion that the development of the deposit was associated with enormous costs and therefore could not be implemented for the time being.
Development
With the independence of Kyrgyzstan in 1991 there was a new movement in the development of gold deposits in the east of the young state. In 1992, those responsible for the Canadian mining company Cameco traveled to Kyrgyzstan for the first time , and in the same year the Kyrgyz government and the company concluded an agreement to establish the Kumtor Gold Project, which provided for the commercial mining of the existing gold reserves in Tianshan. Further steps on this path were the establishment of the Kumtor Operating Company in 1993 and the completion of a feasibility study in 1994. The mine was finally opened in 1996, and commercial gold mining began in 1997.
business
In 1998, total production broke the one million ounce mark ; in 2002, 100 t was reached. In 2004 it came to the restructuring of the operating company, the future under the name Gold Inc. Centerra acted. This was made possible by a 2003 agreement in which the Kyrgyz state company Kyrgyzaltyn and Canadian company Cameco agreed that the newly formed Centerra Gold Inc. would receive a two-thirds stake in the Kumtor mine and Kyrgyzaltyn one in return One-third stake in Centerra. In 2009 the Kyrgyz Parliament ratified the agreement on the new ownership structure at the Kumtor mine, which provided, among other things, that the Kumtor Gold Company would become 100% owned by Centerra Gold. In 2005, it was estimated that the mine would be operational until 2013, and in 2012 the mine life was extended to 2023.
Conflicts and allegations of corruption
Under President Almasbek Atambayev there were serious clashes between Centerra and the Kyrgyz state. Nationalist forces repeatedly demanded the complete nationalization of the important mine and thus fueled the conflict with the Canadian owner. A compromise proposal by the Canadians to set up a joint venture with a 50% stake for both sides was rejected by the then Kyrgyz Prime Minister Joomart Otorbayev . As a result, Centerra announced that it wanted to resolve the deadlocked disputes in arbitration before the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law . President Atambayev reacted by announcing that he wanted to examine all agreements between the Kyrgyz state and the state-owned company Kyrgyzaltyn with the Canadian owners.
People need to know why Kumtor, which should be the pride of Kyrgyzstan and the biggest investment project, is perceived by the people as "the biggest scam." - Kyrgyzstan's President Atambayev in 2016
In the context of these contracts there were several arrests for corruption and bribery . In addition, the Canadian owners were accused by the Kyrgyz side of investing too little in the mine and of withdrawing the proceeds from the Kumtor mine from Kyrgyzstan for other projects around the world. As a result of this dispute, Centerra Gold Inc. relied on increasing business diversification, especially by opening or taking over gold mines in other countries. Despite these conflicts, the ownership structure remains unchanged. However, Centerra has undertaken, among other things, to donate 1% of the gross income from the mine to the Issykkul Development Fund. Kyrgyzstan sends three people to the supervisory board of the Canadian sponsor.
environmental issues
Environmentalists have expressed numerous concerns about the consequences of gold mining in Kumtor. The blasting to expand the mine and the huge bucket wheel excavators that are used in the mine destroy the mountainous landscapes and contribute to the retreat of the surrounding glaciers . The production also produces toxic sludge that is channeled into an artificial lake. It is feared that an earthquake could break the lake's dam and spill the toxic chemicals into the nearby Naryn River . There are also fears of water pollution from sewage from the mine in the surrounding rivers and contaminated melt water from the glaciers.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ten Things You Didn't Know About Kyrgyzstan. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Kumtor Gold Mines project in shamble as Kyrgyz PM said joint venture not in the interest of his country - Eurasia News. ЕВРАЗИЯ - Все новости. March 4, 2016, accessed August 26, 2019 .
- ↑ History | Kumtor Gold Company. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Centerra Gold seeks international arbitration for dispute with Kyrgyzstan. Retrieved August 26, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Shamil Zhumatov: Mountain of gold. Accessed August 26, 2019 .
- ^ Kyrgyzstan ratchets up dispute against Canada's Centerra Gold. Retrieved August 26, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Kyrgyzstan and Centerra | Kumtor Gold Company. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
- ^ Centerra Gold. Retrieved August 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Shamil Zhumatov: Mountain of gold. Accessed August 26, 2019 .
- ↑ Kumtor Gold Mine, Kyrgyzstan. In: Bankwatch. Retrieved August 26, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Marcus Bensmann, Benjamin Bidder: Kyrgyzstan: Power struggle for the gold of Kumtor . In: Spiegel Online . December 1, 2013 ( spiegel.de [accessed August 26, 2019]).