Trouble In Kyrgyzstan
Centerra’s Kumtor Gold Mine is Under Political Attack
By Kevin Michael Grace

Few Canadians have heard of Kyrgyzstan, and fewer still could find it on a map. But the landlocked central Asian republic is of particular interest to one Canadian company, Centerra Gold TSX:CG. Its Kumtor Mine, located high (over 4,000 metres) in the Tian Shan Mountains, has produced more than 8.4 million ounces of gold since 1997. On June 18, a 300-page report by a parliamentary commission accused Centerra of stealing gold and devastating the environment. Centerra shares have fallen by more than half since then.

According to VP Investor Relations John Pearson, the commission’s claims are “unfounded.” He explains, “We’ve had a number of international independent companies that have audited the site, and all those independent audits have come back and said the site operates and meets and exceeds all the Kyrgyz standards from an environmental standpoint. It meets the international standards which are even more stringent than the Kyrgyz standards. So we certainly feel that the parliamentary report’s findings on environmental issues are without merit.”

Read more about Centerra's political issues in Kyrgyzstan.