«Prospecting and exploration works are deficient in Kyrgyzstan, that is why the country will simply run out of deposits in 10-15 years,» Melis Satybekov, head of the Geology Development Fund, said during a round table discussion today.
According to him, it is necessary to raise the issue of replenishing the mineral resource base. Without this, there will be no mining industry in the country at all. The main emphasis should be made on attracting foreign investment for prospecting.
«This work is costly. The state will never do it. But this has to be done. It is necessary to create conditions for junior companies that will come and risk their funds for prospecting and finding new deposits. After all, those that exist and are developing the mining industry today are the work of Soviet geologists. After gaining independence, only one new field — Shambesai was found in 2012. As for the rest of the new fields, the same Chaarat, additional exploration was simply carried out with the specification of their reserves,» Melis Satybekov noted.
