The Kumtor mine (Kyrgyz: Кумтөр, romanized: Kumtör) is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia. The mine has been producing gold since 1997 and has produced over 13.8 million ounces of gold as of June 30, 2022. At 13,000 feet, the mine is the second-highest in the world, behind only Yanacocha in Peru.

Quick Facts Location, Region ...

Kumtor Gold Mine

Location
Kumtor Gold Mine
Region	Issyk-Kul Region
Country	Kyrgyzstan
Coordinates	41°52′N 78°12′E
Production
Products	Gold
Financial year	2021
Type	open-pit
History
Discovered	1978
Opened	1997 (1997)
Owner
Company	Kyrgyz Republic
Website	www.kumtor.kg

Close

In 1978, a geophysical expedition of the State Geological Committee of the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic discovered the deposit. In 1992, the newly formed Government of Kyrgyzstan and the Cameco Corporation signed an agreement forming the Kumtor Gold Project. That same year, the Cameco Corporation became the full owner of Kumtor. The mine's construction commenced in 1993, and commercial gold production at Kumtor started in May 1997.

By October 2013, the Kyrgyz government had completed negotiations with the company and submitted to Parliament a draft memorandum creating a 50/50 joint venture company, which was however, rejected by Parliament as it demanded that Kyrgyzstan's equity interests in the company should be increased to 67 percent.^[1][2] In 2014, the restructuring program for Kumtor was approved by Parliament.^[3] In December 2015, however, it was announced that the Kyrgyz Republic's Government was pulling out of the talks as it was going to provide a new restructuring program.^[4]

Then legal proceedings were transferred to international courts and continued until the Strategic Environment and Investment Agreement was signed between Centerra Gold and the government.^[5][6] The said agreement settled all disputes and the existing arbitration and environmental claims. On 16 November 2016, were also adopted amendments to the Water Code permitting commercial activities near the Davydov and Lysyi glaciers.^[7][8]

The deposit is mined by open-pit mining techniques utilizing typical drill, blast and truck/loader or truck/shovel operations. The ore is delivered to the crusher and further to the mill, where the gold is extracted using carbon-in-leach technology. The mill's rated throughput is approximately 16,000 tonnes of ore per day. The mine is the largest private sector employer and taxpayer in Kyrgyzstan. In 2020 KGC operations^{[clarification needed]} accounted for 12.5 % of GDP and 23.3% of aggregate industrial output.^{[citation needed]}