«If we do not start developing a carefully thought-out and pragmatic strategy for the development of Kumtor now, then in 2025 it will be forced to stop due to the filling of the tailing pit. And actually confirmed gold reserves will run out in seven years,» Tengiz Bolturuk, former external manager of Kumtor Gold Company, said.
He is confident that the shutdown of the mine will seriously harm the image of the country’s leadership, since thanks to the president’s efforts Kumtor was returned to the ownership of the people of Kyrgyzstan. The mine currently has a serious shortage of personnel in certain specialties: prospecting geologists, geotechnicians, underground mining engineers, project engineers and managers, Tengiz Bolturuk said. Previously, these positions were filled by foreign specialists and consultants, but now there is an urgent need to train national personnel not only for this project.
«Kumtor is in urgent need of fundamental changes, technology upgrades, and the introduction of IT technologies. I really hope that Kumtor will become the flagship of the industry and prosperity of our republic,» said Tengiz Bolturuk.
He once again noted that the serious accusation of financial irregularities and the subsequent arrest of him and other Kumtor executives made it impossible to present a full report on Heritage of Great Nomads Holding as well. The positive audit report of the international auditor E&Y (Ernst & Young) on the activities of Kumtor Gold Company for 2021 has not been published.
«This causes rumors and misunderstanding in society. All this had the most negative impact on the image of the country as a whole in the field of transparency in investment activities and also casts a shadow on the agreement with Centerra Gold, since the main player and the initiator of the agreement is accused of financial offenses,» Tengiz Bolturuk said.
He also said that Heritage of Great Nomads Holding held preliminary negotiations and preparations for KGC to enter the stock exchange in Singapore. The expected valuation of Kumtor on the stock exchange is $6–7 billion in 2024.
According to him, the sale of 40 percent of KGC’s shares will make it possible to gain $2.5-2.8 billion for the country. This is the so-called IPO, which is successfully carried out in many countries around the world. After the public offering of Kumtor shares on the stock exchange, the nominal price of shares may increase at least 10 times.
Tengiz Bolturuk and Ryspek Toktogulov were dismissed from all the positions they held. It was reported that the Prosecutor General’s Office began a detailed check. It resulted in three criminal cases with preliminary damage to the state of 1 billion soms. As a result, the former external manager of Kumtor was detained and placed in the remand center of the State Committee for National Security until November 10, 2022. Tengiz Bolturuk himself does not admit his guilt. He stated that all the accusations were false. His lawyer says that the accused is ready to cooperate with the investigation.
