TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian gold miner Centerra Gold on Wednesday said it was still waiting on the Kyrgyz Republic government to formally approve its proposed 2014 mine plan for the Kumtor mine, a substantial source of government revenue.

Toronto-based Centerra responded to a report published by news agency Reuters claiming that the Kyrgyz government had rushed to approve the mine plan in light of Centerra’s recent threat to shutter the mine on Friday if all required approvals had not been secured.

The news agency cited Kyrgyz Deputy Prime Minister Valery Dil as saying that the government had “signed a relevant order” and given the company “the right to continue its work”.

Centerra said despite its continued “constructive” work with the relevant government agencies, it had not received official approval of the 2014 mine plan.

The company noted that the 2014 mine plan required approval of not only the State Agency of Geology and Mineral Resources but also the Kyrgyz Republic State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry.

“There can be no assurance that all necessary approvals and permits will be issued by the close of business on [Friday],” the company said.

The company reiterated that without receiving the required approvals by Friday, it intended to begin an orderly shutdown of operations at the Kumtor project, retaining only enough staff to provide essential environmental and safety monitoring, security and essential maintenance of the mill and mine equipment.

Centerra said its efforts to secure the approvals and permits required to proceed with its gold mining activities at the mine had, to date, been fruitless.

Centerra's Kumtor openpit mine had faced several setbacks since the project started in 1994, including threats of nationalisation, riots and more recently a $300-million ecological damages lawsuit. The mine contributes about 10% of the impoverished country's gross domestic product.

Centerra’s subsidiary in the Kyrgyz Republic, Kumtor Gold Company (KGC), had been working since late last year with the relevant government agencies to obtain approval of its 2014 mine plan and related operating permits, which were usually granted in the first quarter of the year.

The company last week said the Kumtor mine operation was complex and the openpit was subject to significant geotechnical and other challenges, including in-flow of water, ice movement from the Davydov glacier toward the openpit and pit-wall instability. An extended shutdown without active monitoring and management of such challenges would likely have a material adverse impact on the Kumtor mine and the company’s operations, future cash flows, earnings, results of operations and financial condition.

Centerra noted that all disputes regarding the Kumtor project were subject to international arbitration according to the agreements governing the project.

Centerra’s TSX-listed stock was briefly suspended from trading on Wednesday owing to an explosive 13% rally of about C$0.52 a share, in less than five minutes in early trading, before later falling back somewhat to trade at C$4.31 apiece early in the afternoon session.