Tag Archives: metals and mining

Kazatomprom debt deal

JAN. 20 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Kazatomprom, Kazakhstan’s
nuclear agency, has agreed a $450m debt deal with Western banks.
The deal, and its size, show that despite an economic downturn some
Kazakh companies are still considered a relatively good bet.
Kazakhstan owns 15% of the world’s uranium supplies.
ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 215, published on Jan. 21 2015)

China boosts Tajik gold

DEC. 1 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In the first eleven months of this year Tajikistan equalled its top post-independence annual production figure for gold, the country’s Asia-Plus news agency reported.

Like its record cement production figure, posted earlier this year, the increase is due to Chinese investment.

The yield of 3 metric tonnes (mt) is modest by regional standards — neighbouring Uzbekistan produces 90 mt/year and Kyrgyzstan 10-20 mt/year — but it’s still important to Tajikistan, one of the most impoverished countries in the world.

Chinese-Tajik Zeravshan Gold Company is responsible for over two thirds of Tajikistan’s total gold output. And this underlines China’s increasingly tight grip over Tajikistan’s economy. Without China, Tajikistan’s gold and cement industries would be in a far more perilous state.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 211, published on Dec. 3 2014)

Kyrgyzstan’s Ata meken supports nationalising Kumtor

NOV. 14 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan’s Ata Meken party, one of three parties in the ruling government, said it supported nationalising the Kumtor gold mine. Kumtor is the focus of a row between Kyrgyzstan and its Canadian partner Centerra Gold. Ata Meken may have chosen this populist policy to bolster itself ahead of a parliamentary election next year.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 209, published on Nov.19 2014)

Kumtor slowdown costs Kyrgyzstan

NOV. 11 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan will lose $65m in revenue this year because of a delay in restructuring the Kumtor gold mining project, the country’s biggest industrial operation, media quoted Eldar Tadzhibayev, head of the Kyrgyz mining union, as saying. Kumtor has been the focus of a major row between Kyrgyzstan and its Canadian partners.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 208, published on Nov.12 2014)

Kazakh copper miner company changes name

OCT. 31 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhmys, the London-listed Kazakh copper miner that anti-corruption campaigners say has strong links to President Nursultan Nazarbayev, has changed its name to KAZ Minerals PLC. KAZ Minerals retains the newer copper mines while the older mines in central Kazakhstan will operate under a new company called Cuprum Holding.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 207, published on Nov. 5 2014)

Kyrgyzstan threatens gold miners

OCT. 17 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan and its Canadian mining partners once again clashed over ownership of the Kumtor gold mine in the mountains on the east of the country.

Kumtor is the main economic engine of Kyrgyzstan, generating around 10% of its GDP. The problem is Kyrgyzstan wants to own more of the mine which is mainly owned by Totonto-listed Centerra Gold.

Now, Kyrgyzstan president Almazbek Atambayev has threatened to force Centerra Gold to delist from the Toronto stock exchange after a court in Canada suspended its shares.

Kyrgyzstan owns a third of the company but Stans Energy, a Canadian company, has taken out a court injunction preventing Kyrgyzstan from trading its stake. Stans Energy says it is looking for payment from the Kyrgyz government after losing its licence to develop the Kutessay II rare earth mine.

The row between Kyrgyzstan and its foreign investors has been rumbling along for years. It shows no sign of slowing.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 205, published on Oct. 22 2014)

Kyrgyz gold mine attacked

SEPT. 8 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – An armed group attacked a Chinese- run gold mine in northern Kyrgyzstan shooting a security guard and making off with 5kg of gold, media reported. The attack highlights still weak security across swathes of the country. Gold mines are a particular target.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 199, published on Sept. 10 2014)

Anti-mining protests in Kyrgyzstan

AUG. 28 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – In two separate demonstrations, hundreds of protesters in Kyrgyzstan blocked roads to try and stop production at an iron ore mine and an oil refinery, media reported. In both cases, the protesters claimed the sites were damaging the environment, a well-used tactic by protesters wanting to stop industrial production.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 198, published on Sept. 3 2014)

Centerra Gold profit drops in Kyrgyzstan’s Kumtor

JULY 30 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Profit at Toronto-based Centerra Gold, owner of Kyrgyzstan’s Kumtor gold mine, fell because of low gold prices, media reported. Kumtor is Centerra Gold’s main asset and the focus of a major row with the Kyrgyz government. Ian Atkinson, Centerra Gold CEO, also said he was confident of a deal with the Kyrgyz government soon.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 194, published on August 6 2014)

Tajik state-firms’ debt deepens

JULY 29 2014 (The Conway Bulletin) – Tajikistan’s national energy company Barqi Tojik has blamed another massive state-run concern, the aluminium smelter TALCO, for part of its growing $300m debt.

Over a third of Barqi Tojik’s debts are owed to a pair of hydroelectric power facilities, which TALCO officially co-owns with Russia and Iran. Other debts are unpaid taxes to the state, salary arrears, and unpaid loans.

In an interview with Asia-Plus, a Barqi Tojik official said TALCO owed the company $50 million in unpaid energy bills. TALCO, which as reported is itself suffering from a major slump in demand for its products, has denied the allegations.

Barqi Tojik and TALCO are two of Tajikistan’s most significant state-owned companies and both appear to be in trouble.

Barqi Tojik’s debts have grown as public sector clients like TALCO (which alone consumes at least a sixth of national energy production) and other major industrial facilities renege on payments. TALCO reportedly haemorrhaged $40m last year and laid off a fifth of its workforce. The company has suffered from low prices for aluminium and alleged corruption within the political elite. Tajikistan’s economy looks increasing fragile.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 193, published on July 30 2014)