BISHKEK (TCA) — Canadian-based gold mining company Centerra Gold Inc. and Kumtor Gold Company have said that gold production at the Kumtor mine, the largest gold mine in Kyrgyzstan, was 550,960 ounces or 17,136.78 kg in 2016. Gold sales in 2016 were 546,342 ounces or 16,993.15 kg with a revenue totaling $686.4 million.
In 2015, the Kumtor mine produced 16,195.4 kg of gold.
According to preliminary reports of the National Statistics Committee of Kyrgyzstan, Kumtor’s share in the country’s GDP in 2016 was 8% and Kumtor’s share in the aggregate industrial output was 23.4%.
In 2016, contributions to the national budget in taxes, deductions to the Social Fund and other mandatory payments exceeded $110 million, which according to the Kyrgyz National Bank’s exchange rate as of December 31, 2016, amounts to approximately 7.633 billion soms.
Contributions made within the Kyrgyz Republic in 2016 (including taxes, refining, domestic suppliers, infrastructure, charities, etc.) have exceeded $238.450 million. In all, contributions made within the Kyrgyz Republic between 1994 and 2016 have exceeded $3.2 billion.
For 2017, Kumtor’s gold production forecast is expected to be in the range of 455,000 ounces to 505,000 ounces with 30% of the gold production expected to be in the fourth quarter.
“Kumtor had another strong year and we exceeded the mid-point (540,000 ounces) of Centerra’s favourably revised gold production guidance for 2016,” said Scott Perry, Chief Executive Officer of Centerra. “Centerra also significantly beat its unit cost guidance for the year as the all-in sustaining costs were $682 per ounce sold. Kumtor successfully implemented various continuous improvement initiatives throughout the year resulting in higher throughput in the mill and lower unit costs. Kumtor once again generated a significant amount of cash, after all capital expenditures and taxes – it generated $237 million in 2016. The Company continues its discussions with the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic to resolve all outstanding issues affecting the Kumtor Project in a manner that is fair to all of its stakeholders.”
The Kyrgyz government owns a nearly 33 percent stake in the Kumtor project, with Centerra controlling the rest.
The Kumtor mine accounts for the largest part of Kyrgyzstan’s industrial production and is a major taxpayer to the country’s state budget.
