Kyrgyzstan court fines Centerra Gold mining venture $3.1bn
BISHKEK - A court in Kyrgyzstan on Saturday imposed a $3.1-billion fine on Kumtor Gold Company, which operates the nation's biggest gold mine, after ruling that the Canadian-owned firm had violated environmental laws.
The district court decision came just a day after Kyrgyzstan's parliament passed a law allowing the state to temporarily take over a company if its activities pose a danger to human lives or the environment.
Kumtor, which is owned by Canada's Centerra Gold, was found by the court to have breached environmental laws by placing waste rock on glaciers.
The company, which has called the charges "entirely meritless", was fined 261.7-billion som, equivalent to $3.1-billion.
Centerra Gold shares plunged on Friday after Parliament passed the company takeover law, as the mining firm warned that the legislation could affect its ownership of the Kumtor mine.
Kyrgyzstan has a long history of disputes with Centerra Gold over how to share profits from the former Soviet republic's biggest industrial enterprise.
The latest stand-off began shortly after Sadyr Japarov came to power in Bishkek following violent riots last October.
Japarov once campaigned for the nationalisation of the mine and set up a special commission to look into its activities once he became President.
Comments
The
functionality
you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.
If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.
If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.
For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation