TURKISH CENTER  for ASIA PACIFIC STUDIES

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov addressed the people of the country on April 4, 2022.

Kyrgyz President Japarov: The Kumtor gold mine has been completely returned to the Kyrgyz State

APAC - April 7, 2022

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said on April 4, 2022 that the Kumtor gold mine has been completely returned to the Kyrgyz State. The Kyrgyz government has just signed an agreement with Centerra Gold Inc. to resolve this mining dispute. From now on, Kumtor mine will be fully owned by the Kyrgyz State.

Furthermore, Centerra Gold Inc. is required to pay us dividends of US$11 million for the first three quarters of the last year, and Centerra must also make a one-time payment of US$50 million to Kyrgyzstan.
 
Centerra has ended all litigation and other claims against Kyrgyzaltyn in the United States, Sweden and Canada. As regards the “Kyrgyzaltyn” Open Joint Stock Company, it will take over its 26% stake in Centerra. At the same time, Centerra will cover all tax payments related to the transfer of the rights to the specified equity interest in accordance with Canadian law at its own expense.

The Kumtor mine is now valued at roughly of US$3 billion. The book value of just the machinery and real estate is US$1.3 billion dollars.

Looking ahead to the next 10 years, experts estimate Kumtor mine will produce at least US$5 billion dollars from the 160-200 tons of gold expected to be mined. This is money straight into the national budget.