State Commission on Kumtor gold mine completes first stage of work

Bishkek, May 20, 2021. / Kabar /. The State Commission for Investigation of Kumtor Gold Mining Company completed its first stage of work, head of the Commission Akylbek Zhaparov told a press conference Thursday.

He added the Commission is not a law enforcement or judicial body, so it cannot lay charges.

"The Commission reviewed whether the decisions of the commission from 2013 and the government were implemented. We also did a full analysis of whether all of the company's requirements were met. We gathered and compiled all the information. That's the work we completed," he noted.

Besides, Akylbek Zhaparov said the Kumtor Gold Company did not provide the necessary information. He noted that every request received completely different information.

"Even Kyrgyz Altyn, the owner of 26% of shares in Centerra Gold Inc has no data. We found out only through the Stock Exchange," the chairman added.

In February 2021, the Jogorku Kenesh established a State Commission to inspect Kumtor's operations to review compliance with norms and requirements for the rational use of natural resources, environmental protection, safety of production processes and social protection of the population, as well as implementation of decisions of previous parliamentary.

On May 7, the Oktyabr District Court of Bishkek satisfied the claim of four individuals to Kumtor Gold Company CJSC and obliged the company to pay to the state KGS 261 billion 719 million in damages.

Claimants asked to recognize waste storage on Davidov and Lysyi glaciers during development of Kumtor gold deposit as illegal and to exact from the company KGS 261.7 billion of damage to the state. The court fully satisfied the claim.

In addition to the amount of damages, the court ordered to recover from the company a state duty of KGS 1.3 billion. In total, the company is obliged to pay KGS 263 billion, according to the current exchange rate this is USD 3.1 billion.

Kumtor Gold Company CJSC is a subsidiary of the Canadian gold mining company Centerra Gold Inc. It develops the largest gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan Kumtor. Kyrgyzstan, represented by Kyrgyz Altyn OJSC, owns 26.2% of shares in Centerra Gold Inc. and holds the largest stake in Centerra.