Ian Atkinson: Centerra Gold won’t reconsider the Kyrgyz gold mining agreement

Canadian Centerra Gold won’t reconsider the agreement of 2009 about the development of the Kumtor gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan, the president of the compan,y Ian Atkinson said.

“We have to discuss the situation (about Kumtor) with Kyrgyz government and find the solution suitable for all the shareholders, including Kyrgyz government”, he noted on Saturday having added that “this must be a political decision”.

Atkinson hopes that the company dealing with gold mining in Kyrgyzstan for 15 years won’t have to apply for international arbitration. “Previously we managed to settle  the disagreements by means of negotiations”, he added.

Last Thursday,the Kyrgyz Parliament approved the resolution with the demand to the government to reconsider the terms of the contract. “If the negotiations have no result within three months, the government can denounce the agreement on a unilateral basis”, the Minister of the Economy, Temir Sariyev emphasized.

He said, in 2009 the transaction was concluded taking into account the interests of the family of the former President Kurmanbek Bakiyev and the committee founded several years ago came to a conclusion that it didn’t meet the interests of Kyrgyz government.

Particularly, Bishkek would appreciate if Centerra Gold increased its tax liabilities by $105 million and paid 10 million USD per year as compensation forharm to the republican ecology. Besides, $315 million is are demanded from the company for the harm inflicted upon the environment.

As noted by Atkinson, the company considers “all these ecological claims ungrounded”. Besides, he said, the parliamentary resolution is not obligatory, though the government must fulfill the conditions of the agreement.

Bishkek holds 33% of Centerra Gold which also mines gold in Mongolia and is interested in Russian, Chinese and Turkish fields. The development of Kumtor where almost 3,000 people are employed, provided 12% of the republic's GDP in 2011. Last year 12 tons of gold were produced there. The forecast for 2013 makes up 18.8-20.5 tons “if we come to an agreement with the government”, Atkinson added.

Source: http://geonews.com.ua/news/detail/kanadskaya-centerra-gold-ne-pojdet-48344

Translated by Alexandra Utyasheva