Canadian company Centerra Gold Inc. made a statement, saying that the Kumtor mine the Kyrgyz government had expropriated in May has underperformed the 2021 mine plan for June through September by 24 percent. Mining.com reports.
According to Centerra, Kyrgyz officials and the government-imposed external management continue to claim that Kumtor operates normally, but the numbers tell a very different story.
«In particular, gold output plunged more than 24 percent below Centerra’s approved 2021 mine plan over the period between June and September. That means the external management poured about 6.2 billion soms ($73.5 million) less gold, based on the average gold price for the period,» Centerra said in the statement.
Centerra also takes issue with the current management’s refusal to publish any production data or other indicators of the mine’s output since the last public update on June 25.
«When Centerra was in control of the mine, the Kumtor Gold Company (KGC) released timely, accurate and detailed information about its operations — including how much gold was produced and sold. Despite calls for transparency from members of parliament, the «external management» has refused to publish any production data or other indicators of the mine’s output,» Centerra says.
Centerra wants to know where Kumtor’s missing gold is; why KGC hasn’t published any operating results since the government seized the mine; how the government intends to make up for falling gold production; who is buying the gold, and where are the proceeds are; how much is Tengiz Bolturuk being paid and why the government won’t allow an independent assessment of the condition of the mine.
