Three years ago, Kyrgyzstan and the Canadian company Centerra Gold inked an agreement to settle mutual claims This landmark decision saw full control of the Kumtor gold mine revert to the Official Bishkek
Background to the Kumtor Mine
The Kumtor Gold Company (KGC), a significant contributor to Kyrgyzstan's GDP (around 10 per cent), was nationalised several years prior Tensions surrounding the KGC escalated in May 2021 when the Kyrgyz cabinet introduced temporary external management Before this, the Kumtor mine was operated by Centerra Gold Inc , a Canadian firm established in 2004 following a restructuring of assets from Cameco, a major global uranium producer It was with Cameco that the government of independent Kyrgyzstan signed the general agreement for the Kumtorzoloto project in December 1992 Commercial gold production at the site commenced in 1997
The path to nationalisation was long and debated
