An Indian-backed gold project has moved into the production stage at the high-altitude Solton-Sary deposit in Kyrgyzstan, nearly five years after its developer signed an agreement with the state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn company. Deccan Gold Mines says it is the first Indian investment in Kyrgyzstan’s gold mining sector to reach this stage.
On September 12, a gold processing plant began test operations at the Altyn-Tor section of the Solton-Sary deposit in the Naryn Region. The project is being developed by Avelum Partner, in which India’s Deccan Gold Mines holds a controlling stake, together with Kyrgyzaltyn.
The two sides have been working together since December 2021. Under their partnership agreement, Kyrgyzaltyn holds a 35% stake, while Avelum Partner holds 65%. The project involves the comprehensive development of Altyn-Tor, including the processing of accumulated tailings and waste rock.
Solton-Sary is located about 355 kilometers from Bishkek at an altitude of 3,500–3,600 meters. Soviet geologists first studied the deposit, and trial production at Altyn-Tor began in 1994. Operations have since been intermittent.
Investment in the project reached $34.2 million by the end of August 2026. The foundation stone for the new plant was laid in July 2024. At the time, Kyrgyzaltyn said that once the facility reached its planned operating capacity, it was expected to create at least 400 jobs, more than 95% of them for Kyrgyz citizens.
The agreement also stipulates that commercial-grade gold produced at the facility must be transferred to Kyrgyzaltyn and cannot be exported independently by the Indian partner.
The structure is significant in a mining sector where foreign ownership has repeatedly become politically contentious. The most prominent example is Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold mine, which the government took under state control from Canada’s Centerra Gold in 2021. A settlement the following year transferred ownership to Kyrgyzaltyn. At Altyn-Tor, by contrast, Kyrgyzaltyn remains a partner in the project while the foreign investor provides most of the investment.
Chinese investment is also present at Solton-Sary itself, although its history there has been considerably more complicated.
The deposit consists of three main gold-bearing sections – Altyn-Tor, Buchuk, and Ak-Tash. Total gold reserves have been estimated at about 20 metric tons.
Buchuk is being developed by the Kyrgyz-Chinese company Zhong Ji Mining. Explored gold reserves at the site are estimated at 12 metric tons, while geologists have indicated a possible additional 22 metric tons of gold resources.
The project became the center of a major dispute over foreign mining investment in 2019.
In August of that year, hundreds of residents of the Naryn Region gathered near Zhong Ji Mining’s operations. Local residents linked mining activity to livestock deaths and feared environmental contamination. On August 5, the protest escalated into clashes with Chinese workers, and more than 20 people received medical treatment. The authorities suspended operations, while the company removed some of its workers and equipment.
When President Sadyr Japarov visited Solton-Sary in 2022, the Chinese project was still not operating. Local residents again raised concerns about the environment and the condition of roads. Japarov said at the time that a decision on further development should be made after environmental risks had been assessed.
Operations at Buchuk later resumed. In October 2024, Zhong Ji Mining launched a gold processing plant there in test mode. The site produced 876.3 kilograms of gold in 2025.
The Indian project is being developed at Altyn-Tor, where Kyrgyzaltyn has worked since 1994. Solton-Sary now hosts two very different models of foreign investment, one Indian-backed and the other Chinese-backed.
