Gold Mining - The Times Of Central Asia

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Gold Mining

Kyrgyzstan Advances Underground Project at Kumtor Mine

The state-owned Kumtor Gold Company, Kyrgyzstan's largest gold mining asset, has announced the high efficiency of its new underground mining operations. According to the company, up to 5 grams of gold can be extracted from each ton of ore mined using the underground method. Experts believe this yield is sufficient to ensure the long-term viability of the deposit. Although underground mining was officially launched in August 2025, actual excavation began in February. In a response to The Times of Central Asia, the company reported that geological reserves in the underground zones of Kumtor are estimated at 147 tons of gold, enabling the mine to remain operational for at least another 17 years. “Two tunnels are currently being developed. Poor ore is being mined at the moment, and the system is reaching its design capacity. Full-scale production will be achieved in the coming years,” the company stated. To date, over 1.5 kilometers of underground tunnels have been excavated at Kumtor. Operations continue around the clock, with special equipment transporting ore out of the mine every ten minutes. To maintain a safe working environment in the high-altitude, cold conditions, warm air is pumped into the tunnels to ensure worker comfort and safety. Kumtor was nationalized in 2022 after nearly 30 years of operation by the Canadian company Centerra Gold. The previous operator had planned to complete mining operations in 2024 and begin land reclamation. While underground mining was explored in 2015, it was deemed unprofitable at the time, in part due to low global gold prices. Today, gold is trading at approximately $4,280 per ounce, around $1,000 more than five years ago. This price increase has significantly improved the profitability of underground extraction, making the project economically viable.

Gold Mining

Indian Gold Miners Enter Kyrgyz Market for the First Time

Indian mining firm Deccan Gold Mines has launched operations at the Altyn Tor gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn region, marking the first overseas venture by an Indian gold mining company, according to Indian media reports. The project is being developed through Deccan's local subsidiary, Avelum Partners LLC, which holds a 60% stake in the mine. Production of doré bars is scheduled to begin in October 2025. Geological assessments estimate the Altyn Tor deposit contains approximately 4.6 million tons of gold-bearing ore with an average grade of 1.2 grams per ton, translating to roughly 60 tons of total gold reserves. Hanuma Prasad Modali, CEO of Deccan Gold Mines, said preparations are progressing on schedule. “Eleven conveyor systems have been installed at the site, and the crushing complex has been tested. In early September, the ball mill, one of the key components of the processing plant, will go online, enabling us to reach design capacity as planned,” Modali stated. The company has positioned the project as a model of responsible mining, aiming to strengthen bilateral ties between India and Kyrgyzstan. Despite challenging climatic conditions at the site’s 3,300-meter elevation, year-round production is planned. Altyn Tor forms part of the larger Solton-Sary gold deposit, originally discovered by Soviet geologists in the 1940s. Mining activity at the site was active through the 1990s and early 2000s but later ceased due to insufficient investment. Deccan Gold Mines is also evaluating the potential for processing materials in the tailings pond, where residual gold remains. The company remains the only publicly listed gold mining firm on the Indian stock exchange. News of its overseas expansion triggered a surge in share prices. Earlier, Kyrgyzaltyn, the state-owned holding company, confirmed that production at the site was expected to commence in the second half of 2024.

Tajik-Afghan Border

Gold and Gunfire: Tajik-Taliban Tensions Flare on the Border

Tajik border guards and Taliban fighters have exchanged fire in an area along the Tajik-Afghan border. The incident happened on August 24 and is connected to a Chinese gold mining operation on the Afghan side of the border. The hostilities ended after a rare meeting between local Tajik and Taliban officials, though each side accused the other of harboring enemies. Gold Mining The Tajik authorities have been watching Afghanistan’s Dovang district in Afghanistan’s Badakhshan Province since the start of a gold mining operation there three years ago. Residents of Tajikistan’s Shamsiddin Shohin district, across the Pyanj River from Dovang, reported rising water levels in their area. Sodikjon Rahmonzoda, the head of the district branch of Tajikistan’s Ministry for Emergency Situations, stated that “On the opposite bank of the river, in Afghanistan, industrial gold mining started…. They built infrastructure (including) dams that direct water to our bank.” The Tajik authorities have been reinforcing the bank on the Tajik side of the river to prevent nearby villages from flooding. It is unclear if the two sides were previously in contact about the problems the diversion of water in the river was causing in Tajikistan. The other four Central Asian governments have all established a dialogue with the Taliban since they returned to power in August 2021. Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, and Uzbek officials have visited Afghanistan, and Taliban representatives have visited Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan (but so far, not Kyrgyzstan). The Tajik government has kept its contact with the Afghan militant group to a minimum, though several border crossing points are working again, and some bazaars on the Tajik side of the frontier have reopened to Afghan customers. Rising Tensions In May, Tajik authorities detained a group of Chinese and Afghans who drove across the river on excavators from the mining site in Dovang into Tajikistan. According to the Tajik authorities, the Chinese and Afghans were seeking to launder money in Tajikistan. On August 24, a group of Taliban arrived at the border area in Dovang. It is not clear what sparked the shooting, but Tajik border guards and Taliban fighters exchanged fire using heavy weapons. One Taliban fighter was reportedly killed, and four others were wounded. There were no reports of casualties among the Tajik border guards. Neither the Tajik government nor Taliban officials have commented on the clash. A Rare Meeting Following the shooting, the commander of the Tajik border guard unit in the Shamsiddin Shohin district led a group of soldiers across the border to Dovang to meet with the head of mining operations and other officials in Badakhshan Province. The two sides discussed the gold mining operation on the Afghan side of the border, but the conversation degenerated into accusations, with each side complaining that the other was sheltering and training their enemies. Both sides are correct. The Tajik government allows members of the National Resistance Front (NRF), including its leader Ahmad Masoud, to travel to and often stay in Tajikistan. The NRF is a group of mainly ethnic...

Gold Mining

Underground Gold Mining Officially Launched at Kumtor

Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has inaugurated underground mining operations at the high-altitude Kumtor gold mine during a working visit to the Issyk-Kul region. According to Japarov, underground development at Kumtor should have started two decades ago. However, the mine’s former operator, Canadian company Centerra Gold, opted instead for open-pit mining, which was less costly but had serious environmental consequences. He said the dumping of waste rock onto the Davydov and Lysyi glaciers resulted in their degradation. “The launch of underground gold mining at Kumtor is a crucial step toward environmental protection and glacier preservation,” Japarov stated. He reported that approximately 1,600 meters of tunnels have already been excavated, and ore with a gold content exceeding five grams per ton is ready for extraction. The underground operation is projected to continue for 17 years, with proven reserves estimated at 147 tons of gold. While Centerra Gold had previously explored underground mining, low global gold prices over a decade ago rendered the project financially unviable. The open-pit method yielded between five and seven grams of gold per ton of ore, then considered the threshold for profitability. As gold content declined over time, the possibility of mine closure loomed. That outlook changed with rising gold prices. Following the nationalization of Kumtor in 2021, the mine’s profitability increased substantially. According to Japarov, since May 2021 the mine has produced 54 tons of gold, generating $3.5 billion in revenue. Of that, $891 million was paid into the state budget through taxes and other contributions. By contrast, the president noted, Kyrgyzstan received just $100 million during the 28 years the mine was under foreign ownership. Speaking to The Times of Central Asia, veteran Kyrgyz geologist Rozalia Djenchuraeva suggested Kumtor’s reserves may be even larger. “Even on Soviet maps, one can see that there is a lot of gold in this area. Gold-bearing veins run under the glaciers from the Kyrgyz-Chinese border through Kumtor and extend westward for many kilometers,” she said. Djenchuraeva added that with modern technologies, especially underground extraction, it is possible to mine gold efficiently while adhering to environmental standards.

Gold Deposit

Kyrgyzstan Launches Major Gold Exploration at Historic Makmal Deposit

Kyrgyzstan has initiated large-scale geological exploration at the historic Makmal gold deposit in the Jalal-Abad region, marking the first such effort in decades. The announcement was made by Kyrgyzaltyn, the state-owned enterprise responsible for gold and precious metals mining. According to the company, its subsidiary, Makmal Gold Company, has begun exploratory drilling in the southwestern section of the mine, an area previously untouched by mining operations. Soviet-era geological surveys suggest that this zone may hold up to four tons of gold reserves. "Extensive work is underway to extend the life of the Makmal mine," the Kyrgyzaltyn press service stated. "We plan to drill 19 wells at depths ranging from 140 to 400 meters. This will help us better define reserves and create additional employment opportunities." The exploration will proceed in two phases. In the first stage, geologists will drill a total of 3,275 meters. If results are favorable, a one-kilometer tunnel will be constructed to allow for precise reserve estimation, laying the groundwork for future industrial extraction. Kyrgyzaltyn also plans to evaluate other previously unexplored areas of the deposit. Historic and Economic Significance The Makmal deposit, one of Kyrgyzstan’s earliest gold mining sites, began industrial operations in 1986. Originally projected to last ten years, the discovery of new veins has kept the mine active to the present day. Currently, the mine contributes more than 95% of budget revenues for the Toguz-Toro district. Makmalzoloto, the operator, has also invested significantly in regional infrastructure, allocating 54 million Kyrgyz som (approximately $618,000) over the past three years, with an additional 50 million som ($572,000) directed toward charitable initiatives. The company employs more than 500 workers, nearly all of whom are local residents. While the annual output is modest, less than one ton, Makmal remains among the ten largest operational gold mines in the country. Kyrgyzstan has around 2,500 registered mineral deposits, of which 46 are classified as large.

Gold Mining

Kumtor Launches Tire Retreading Program to Cut Costs and Waste

Kumtor, Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold mining operation, has initiated a tire retreading program for its fleet of large Caterpillar mining dump trucks. The announcement was made by Kubat Abdraimov, chairman of the board of the state-owned Kyrgyzaltyn company, which oversees the Kumtor enterprise. The retreading work is being carried out at a facility in Tokmok. The first set of refurbished tires has already been installed on dump trucks and is undergoing operational testing at the mine. If successful, the program will expand, with the Tokmok plant expected to retread between 200 and 300 tires annually. “This will save more than $1.5 million per year. At the same time, we are solving an important environmental problem by reducing waste and reusing resources,” Abdraimov said during a site inspection of Kumtor’s production facilities. New tires for Caterpillar dump trucks can cost up to $30,000 each. In the high-altitude conditions of the Kumtor mine, located at 3,500 to 4,500 meters above sea level, tire wear is especially rapid, making operations significantly more expensive. According to the company’s press service, the refurbished tires were delivered to the mine at the end of May. One vehicle fitted with the retreaded tires has already logged over 1,000 kilometers and more than 100 hours of work under full load. The condition of the tires is being monitored continuously. In the early years of Kumtor’s development during the 1990s, the initial tire supply came from the Belarusian manufacturer BelAZ. However, the products proved unsuitable for the mine’s extreme conditions, leading to a switch to Canadian suppliers along with other imported components. Abdraimov also highlighted the critical contribution of technical personnel to the reliability of mining operations. “The mine uses modern mining and auxiliary equipment. Work is carried out around the clock in challenging weather and at high altitudes. The reliability and qualifications of the repair crews are key to sustainable operation,” he said. Industry experts suggest the tire retreading initiative could be a foundational step in creating a domestic industrial cluster focused on the repair and maintenance of mining equipment in Kyrgyzstan.