JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Exploration and development company Chaarat Gold is planning to accelerate work on its Kyrgyzstan gold project, which has all the necessary approvals in place for production to start in 2019.

Chaarat chairperson Martin Andersson said on Wednesday that the management team was working on budgets, plans and timelines to speed up construction of the Tulkubash heap leach project ahead of securing the full construction financing.

In an interim statement for the six months to June 30, Chaarat reported that it aimed to start construction of the crushing facility, heap leach facility and other plant infrastructure in the second quarter of 2018. Geotechnical site investigations for detailed design of these facilities has been completed, allowing foundation designs to proceed.

In the meantime, work was under way on the construction of a new 16 km access road from the Chatkal valley to the top of Kumbel pass, which would provide access to the top of the Kumbel pass for transporting equipment and supplies during construction and operating supplies during operations. The company reported that two Kyrgyz contractors were working on this road – one from the top down and one from the bottom up – and that the two were expected to be connected by the end of the construction season.

Chaarat recently reached a major milestone in advancing the gold mine with the executing of a licence agreement with the Kyrgyzstan government. The agreement approves the oxide and the refactor ore project and supports the company’s plan to develop the Tulkubash deposit first and the refractory ore project at a later date.

Andersson said that the investment climate for mining companies in Kyrgyzstan had improved with the issue of the licence for the Tulkubash project and the conclusion of a long-running dispute between the government and Canadian firm Centerra, in relation to the Kumtor mine.

Chaarat has secured $15-million in funding through the issue of convertible notes to finalise the bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the Tulkubash project and to fund preparations for construction.

The BFS is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2018. Based on its current plans of a processing capacity of 2.8-million tonnes of ore a year, Tulkubash will produce between 60 000 oz/y and 70 000 oz/y of gold in the five years that the mine will operate.