Tag Archives: metals and mining

Kyrgyz officials vote against nationalising Kumtor

JUNE 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Parliamentarians in Kyrgyzstan voted against nationalising the Kumtor gold mine owned by Canada’s Centerra Gold, after a report accused it of a series of environmental infringements. Instead, parliament ordered a review to recommend boosting its stake in Centerra Gold, which currently stands at 33%.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 094, published on June 29 2012)

Georgia makes gold mine deal

JUNE 19 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Capital Group Company, owned by Russians Dmitri Korzhev and Dmirtri Troitsky, has bought a copper ore and gold mine in Georgia from GeoProMining for $120m, media reported. Capital Group Company already owns a mine in Armenia. Despite political animosity, Georgia and Russia have close business links.

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(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)

Kyrgyzstan announces gold tender

JUNE 19 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kyrgyzstan has announced it will tender mining rights to 93 gold deposits on Aug. 20/21, media reported. Mining, especially gold, is Kyrgyzstan’s main economic lifeline and the Kumtor mine, operated by Toronto-listed Centerra Gold, accounts for around a third of the country’s GDP.

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(News report from Issue No. 093, published on June 22 2012)

Azerbaijan family’s gold leaks

MAY 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – The US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty published an investigation into the UK gold mining company AIMROC which it says is owned by the family of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev through a series of Panama-registered companies. In 2007, the Azerbaijani government awarded AIMROC a lucrative gold mining contract.

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(News report from Issue No. 086, published on  May 4 2012)

 

Anglo Asian Mining finds gold deposit in Azerbaijan

APRIL 23 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Anglo Asian Mining, which is listed on London’s AIM stock market, announced it has found a new gold deposit in Azerbaijan. The find, around 350km west of Baku, is significant as its boosts Azerbaijan’s overall gold reserves. The Azerbaijani government owns a 49% stake in Anglo Asian Mining.

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(News report from Issue No. 085, published on April 27 2012)

 

Centerra Gold cuts output at Kyrgyz mine

MARCH 27 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Toronto-based Centerra Gold cut gold output at its Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan by a third, threatening the stability of the Kyrgyz economy. Kumtor accounts for around 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s annual income. Centerra Gold, 33% owned by the Kyrgyz government, blamed the output cut on excessive ice in the mine.

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(News report from Issue No. 081, published on March 30 2012)

Gold mine strike in Kyrgyzstan

FEB. 6 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Around 1,400 workers at the Kumtor gold mine, which makes up around 12% of Kyrgyzstan’s national income, started a strike over new tax payments which they say their employer should pay on their behalf. Centerra Gold, the Canadian company which owns and operates the mine, said the strike was illegal.

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(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)

Kazakhstan increases uranium production

FEB. 3 2012 (The Conway Bulletin) – Underlining its position as the world’s biggest uranium producer, Kazakhstan’s atomic agency Kazatomprom announced it increased uranium output by 9% in 2011. The 20,000 tonnes Kazatomprom mined in 2011 was the equivalent of about a third of the world’s total uranium production.

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(News report from Issue No. 76, published on Feb. 9 2012)

Kyrgyzstan’s investment climate takes another turn for the worse

OCT. 16 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – By Oct. 13 2011 Talas Copper Gold, a Kyrgyz gold mining company, had had enough.

After raiders on horseback had firebombed its camp in a remote part of northern Kyrgyzstan and local officials linked to its project had received death threats, the company decided to postpone further gold exploration. It had simply become too dangerous.

Talas Copper Gold, may only be a relatively small operation but the impact is significant and will echo around investors looking at Kyrgyzstan. The attacks bear the hallmarks of organised crime.

A joint venture between a British company Orsu Metals (40%) and South Africa’s Gold Fields (60%), Talas Copper Gold is the sort of operation Kyrgyzstan needs to lift its economy.

Foreign investors may be essential for Kyrgyzstan but their choice of investment sectors is limited. After water, gold is one of the most abundant natural resource. Kumtor, a gold miner owned by Canada’s Centerra Gold, contributes around 7% of Kyrgyzstan’s national income.

But two revolutions since 2005, ethnic violence last summer that killed roughly 400 people and a change of constitution, make Kyrgyzstan a risky place for foreign investors. Raids and death threats organised by local crime gangs looking for extra revenue often make it just too difficult to operate.

Perhaps most disturbing is that Talas Copper Gold’s experience is not unique. There have been several other cases of raiders on horseback attacking foreign gold prospectors this year.

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(News report from Issue No. 61, published on Oct. 18 2011)

Chinese gold producer buys stake in Kyrgyz miner

AUG. 17 2011 (The Conway Bulletin) – In another sign of Chinese ambitions in Central Asia, China’s top gold producer Zijin Mining Group said it planned to buy 60% of Kyrgyz gold miner Altynken for $66m. The deal is subject to approval from both the Chinese and Kyrgyz governments.

ENDS

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(News report from Issue No. 54, published on Aug. 30 2011)