Tengiz Bolturuk, external manager at Kumtor, told about plans for operation of the mine for the near future.
According to him, the Kyrgyz side has learned from the situation with the shutdown of the automated control system of the mine. Instead of the old one, a new system from SAP will be installed. In addition, work will be carried out to eliminate environmental violations.
"It takes time to resolve the problems that have accumulated over the years. We won't be able to do this quickly. Waste rock storage will be gradually stopped. This will take from one and a half to two years. We intend to end the practice of using water from Petrov lake for the needs of the mine. We plan to use the mine waters from the pit. They are being dumped into Kumtor river. The lake will thaw out in the next month, the water must be pumped out and stored somewhere. This is a big task that requires money and technical research. We intend to implement an independent monitoring system, which Kumtor Gold Company and Centerra Gold did not do. We are negotiating with a Swiss company, in order an independent environmental organization to fully control the work at the mine,” Tengiz Bolturuk said.
He noted that the glacier movement control system is now operating in manual mode. There are people at each glacier who control their condition. However, there is no early warning system as before.
After stabilization of the situation at the mine, work will continue to increase the volume of gold production.
"Drilling programs will be stepped up. As soon as the financial issues are resolved, the tailings processing will begin. There are about 106 tons of ore. 40-50 tons of gold can be extracted from them. We need to prepare for this. We are negotiating with other Canadian companies. It will take about a year and a half. We will launch this project,” Tengiz Bolturuk assured.
He promised that a transparent procurement system for the mine would be created.
