TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold producer Centerra Gold has received a one-month extension on its emissions and waste disposal permits at the Kumtor mine, in Kyrgyzstan.

The Kyrgyz Republic State Agency of Environmental Protection and Forestry (SAEPF) had advised Kumtor that it was not necessary to suspend operations while it continued its review of Kumtor’s yearly mine plan. The agency still had three months at its disposal to complete its review.

The company was in exactly the same situation a year ago, when it threatened to suspend mining operations while government delayed the approval of the mine plan and permits.

Centerra said the process of obtaining approval for the mine plan and other required permits to operate the Kumtor mine had been impacted by concerns raised by the SAEPF about the potential application of the Kyrgyz Water Code to the Kumtor operations.

The government had proposed draft amendments to the Water Code to the Kyrgyz Parliament that, if adopted, would alleviate this concern.

Centerra understood that Parliament would consider the proposed amendments this month.

Centerra and Kumtor disputed the SAEPF’s interpretation of the Water Code, including that the stabilisation and nondiscrimination provisions contained in the project agreements governing the Kumtor project and the laws of the Kyrgyz Republic, which implemented these project agreements, supported the view that the Water Code did not apply to the Kumtor operations.

Further, the project agreements provided that Kumtor was entitled to receive all licences, permits and approvals as were necessary or convenient to operate Kumtor.

The company pointed out that the mine plan did not differ from past operations and previously approved plans, foreseeing the mine plan to be approved and all permits to be provided in the usual course.

Centerra expected to continue discussions with the SAEPF to obtain the approval of the annual mine plan and further extensions of the relevant permits.

The company warned that if it did not receive the approvals and extensions within the required timeframe, it might be forced to suspend Kumtor operations.

Centerra had been in talks with Kyrgyzstan for more than a year on a deal that would involve the government swapping its 32.7% stake in Centerra for half of a joint venture that would control the gold deposit, the largest in the region.

However, negotiations hit renewed uncertainty in April, when former Economy Minister Temir Sariyev was made Prime Minister.