Kumtor gold production falls 63% in Q1
BISHKEK. May 30 (Interfax) - Kumtor Operating Company (KOC), the operator developing the Kumtor gold-ore deposit in Kyrgyzstan, produced 60,707 ounces of gold in the first quarter of this year, 63% less than in the same three months last year.
The KOC press service told Interfax this substantial drop was due to changes to the ore production schedule this year as compared with last year. It was also due to a decrease in gold content in the ore delivered to the recovery plant, which amounted to 1.98 grams per tonne with an average recovery percentage of 72.6%. Average gold content was 4.12 grams per tonne a year earlier and the recovery percentage 82.6%.
The plant processed 1.3 million tonnes of ore in Q1, a 10% year-on-year decrease. "This happened as a result of a temporary work stoppage during a ten-day strike," a KOC spokesperson said.
The company is looking to increase gold production in the fourth quarter of 2012.
KOC sold 62,196 ounces of gold in Q1 for an average of $1,732 per ounces. Sales revenues amounted to $107.7 million.
The company paid more than KGS 1.37 billion in taxes and fees in January-March.
Kumtor was discovered in 1989 in the Issyk-Kol region of Northern Kyrgyzstan, more than 4,000 meters above sea level. The project was initially considered unviable due to the difficulty of operating in a permafrost environment.
Kumtor miners went on strike over pay for ten days in February. They went back to work when KOC offered them a 4.5% pay increase.
KOC operates Kumtor on behalf of Canada's Centerra Gold Inc. It sells gold in the form of Dore to Kyrgyzstan's OJSC Kyrgyzaltyn to be refined and then sold as per an agreement between KOC, Kyrgyzaltyn and the Kyrgyz government. Kyrgyzaltyn owns 32.8% of the shares in Centerra Gold.
Centerra Gold is a leading North American and the biggest western company mining gold in Central Asia. Kyrgyzaltyn holds a 32.8% stake in the company, an interest worth from $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion.
