Kumtor gold mine development could be completed in Kyrgyzstan as early as 2019

Almaty. July 20. Silkroadnews – Development of the Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan could be completed in 2019, KyrTAG reports.

“According to the Kyrgyz experts, Kumtor will operative until 2019 including. Deputy Chairman of the Association of Miners and Geologists of the Kyrgyz Republic Duyshenbek Kamchibekov said about this on Wednesday during a round table meeting”, press-release stated.

“Earlier representatives of “Kumtor Gold Company” said the mine is to operate until 2026. However, according to our estimates, the last year of “Kumtor” project development will be 2019,” said D. Kamchibekov.

According to him, representatives of the association have repeatedly appealed to the government to establish the interagency commission in this regard, the issue is not being solved yet.

Kushbakali Tadjibaev, Doctor of Technical Science, believes the project could continue its operation after 2020 as well.

“It could have operated longer than 2020. According to the plan, the field has around 716 tonnes of gold, as of today more than 300 tonnes of gold     have been mined by the open pit and underground works have not been considered at all. Because of Kumtor top managers’ irresponsibility and lack of control by the government and Ministry of Economy, this issue remains unsolved”, he noted.