Kazakhmys Gold Kyrgyzstan held a grand opening of its mining plant on August 1. The plant is located at the Bozymchak copper and gold deposit in the Ala-Buka district, Jalal-Abad province in southern Kyrgyzstan.

Kazakhmys Gold Kyrgyzstan, a part of KAZ Minerals Group PLC, has been working in Kyrgyzstan since 2007. In the first six month of 2015, the company produced more than 5.5 thousand tons of copper ore.

The plant is important for the economic development of the country, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Temir Sariyev said at the opening ceremony. Last week, another gold enterprise, Altyn-Ken located at the Taldy-Bulak Levoberezhny deposit in Chui Oblast was commissioned, and launching of such enterprises will continue in the near future, he added.

This is the first major project of Kazakhmys in Kyrgyzstan. The company will extract copper and gold, applying the most advanced technologies. The general approved ore reserves of the central part of the mine are 22 tons of gold, 144 tons of silver, and 140 thousand tons of copper. $332 million has been invested in the project. The plant will produce one million tons of ore per year.

Hitherto the Bozymchak plant has been operating in a test mode, and from September, it will work at full capacity. Until the end of the year the state budget will receive 200 million soms in taxes, of which 50 million soms will go to the local budget. When the plant starts operating at fully capacity, the state budget will receive 400 million soms a year, and more than a thousand new jobs will be created. From the activity of the two of gold mining enterprises (Bozymchak and Altyn-Ken) the state budget will annually receive 1.5 billion soms, and about 2,000 people will be employed, said Sariyev.

It is also planned to put into operation the Jerooy mine in the Talas province in the near future.

Maintaining order

There are persons in the country not interested in projects aimed at economic development, and disciplinary measures will be taken to them, said the Premier. "We have to maintain order in the country, and each of us has to follow the rule of law."

Sariyev said that he will sack the head of the Talas regional administration Raikan Ozubekov (Jerooy gold deposit is located in the Talas province).

"In the past two weeks, he did not come to work and was on a sick leave. At the same time he was organizing meetings of local councils and was engaged in politics. The Head of the Talas district is an authorized representative of the Government in the region, and he has to create favorable conditions for the residents, helping people to develop the region, but he is organizing the rally instead," said Sariyev.

Environmental protection

Mining companies should pay particular attention to the environmental protection, said Sariyev. A series of commitments have been put before Kazakhmys Gold Kyrgyzstan including respect for the environment, reducing negative risks to natural resources and maintaining of mutually respectful relations with local communities.

"We hope that Kazakhmys will work according to international standards and in compliance with environmental requirements. When commissioning the plant, risks of negative impacts on the environment are possible, and a serious approach is needed. If you cut down one tree, then you should plant 100 trees instead," the PM said.

To minimize environmental impact, dry stacking tailings technology is applied at Bozymchak, the company said. The production process is carried out by bulk flotation without cyanides. The copper concentrate will be transported to the Balkhash smelter in Kazakhstan.

Upon completion of the production remediation activities will be carried out and biological cover of the area restored.

Jerooy

There are no obstacles to launch Jerooy, said Sariyev. Currently, signing of the license agreement is being prepared and the State Agency for Geology and Mineral Resources is responsible for it. Social obligations of the licensee company will amount to100 million soms this year.

During 18 months, they have to build a plant and launch it. More than a thousand workers, all citizens of Kyrgyzstan, will work at the plant. Those who will hinder the launch of the plant will be responsible under the law, stressed Sariyev.

The Jerooy gold mine is located in the Talas province. Local residents recently staged another protest preventing commissioning of the enterprise.

Rally against Bozymchak

On July 24, residents of the Kok-Serek village staged a rally against Bozymchak development. They demanded that the deposit developer implement its commitments to employ the local residents and ensure the environmental safety.

“The protesters asked that the number of Kyrgyz citizens working at the factory be 70%, but 98.2% of our citizens are working there,” Deputy Prime Minister responsible for security and law enforcement, Abdyrakhman Mamataliyev, said at a news conference on July 27.

The company plans to transfer about 60 million soms of taxes to the state budget from the sale of concentrate only. The investor also plans to pay 150 million soms of taxes not related to the production.

"We are interest in constructive cooperation with the local community and believe that blocking the road cannot solve problems. A small group of people under the name of the local population is pursuing its own selfish goals and puts forward unreasonable demands,” Mamataliyev said.

Prime Minister Sariyev ordered to clear the road, saying that the company should not stop its work because of dissatisfaction of a few people. Under the law, the blocking of roads entails criminal liability.

Kazakhmys Gold believes that it has created good partnership with the local community, and the company is considered a model in terms of building a dialogue with the local community. Majority of local residents supports the initiatives of the company and understand that the operation of the plant will change their lives for the better.

The company is a reliable partner of the state in solving social problems. Over the years of its activity the company has allocated more than 491 million soms for social projects. Most of schools in Kok-Serek were renovated. Furniture and equipment was purchased for the kindergarten, hospital repaired and children's playgrounds built. The company has built a 31.5 km length road worth $7 million, and a power line. Now the region is electrically independent.

When hiring, the priority is given to local residents, but the company is experiencing a great shortage of professional personnel for the mining industry. To solve the problem, the company trains students from the local community at universities in Bishkek.