Kyrgyzstan has named Tengiz Bolturuk as general manager of the Kumtor gold mine, a day after seizing control of the mine that was formerly operated by Canadian mining company Centerra Gold.
The announcement was made in a statement issued by head of the State commission on Kumtor, Akylbek Japarov.
The statement highlights several concerns relating to the operation of Kumtor, including its safety record, waste management and other environmental practices. It notes that, based on a State commission’s investigation into these concerns, Parliament has concluded that a temporary control of the mine is warranted.
It is understood that government will assume control of the operations for a period of three months.
The statement further accuses Centerra of disabling critical sensors that monitor the stability of the mine and the movement of nearby glaciers, and claims that the mine’s management has left the country.
Government has appointed a team, led by Bolturuk, to take over management of the mine. Bolturuk was until Monday the Kyrgyzaltyn nominee on the Centerra board.
Commenting on the arbitration that Centerra started at the weekend, Japarov said that the government was looking forward to reviewing the arbitration filing to “understand what they consider to be the basis” for initiating the process.
"We were surprised that Centerra has taken the drastic step of initiating an arbitration process, rather than responding to our letter and engaging constructively to resolve our issues in a way that can benefit all parties,” he said.
Centerra CEO Scott Perry has said that the gold company would take all measures possible to protect shareholder rights. The miner has received support from the Canadian and UK governments.
On Monday, the Canadian government issued a statement expressing its disappointment with developments in the Kyrgyzstan mining industry.