Court Fined Kumtor Gold for Violating Environmental Laws

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Kumtor Gold Company, the operator of Kyrgyzstan’s largest gold mine, was fined $3.1 billion in favour of Krygyzstan by a court for violating environmental rules. Kumtor is owned by Canadian Centerra Gold. According to the court ruling, the company has violated environmental laws by placing waste rock on glaciers.

The decision by the district court came just one day after the county’s Parliament passed the controversial law, which grants full rights to the state to temporarily takeover any company if its activities are found to cause danger to human lives or to the environment. The law, adopted by the Parliament, was allegedly targeted at Kumtor Mine, as it is the only project operating under a concession agreement in the Kyrgyz Republic. It allows the country’s government to run the mine for up to three months.

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Meantime, Centerra Gold announced that it remains committed to continuing to work with authorities to resolve any outstanding issues in accordance with the 2009 restated project agreements, which calls for resolution of all disputes by international arbitration, if necessary. Further, it termed the charges against the company as “entirely meritless”.

Kumtor has been a bone of contention between the Krygyzstan government and Centerra Gold for many years now. The mine had recorded approximately 556,000 ounces of gold output in 2020.