Kyrgyzstan, Centerra to Move Forward on Kumtor Joint Venture

Reuters reported that Kyrgyzstan’s government and Centerra Gold Inc. (TSX:CG) now have four months to finalize a draft deal regarding a 50-50 joint venture to run Centerra’s Kumtor gold mine. The order was handed down by Kyrgyzstan’s parliament.

As quoted in the market news:

After two days of heated debate, 60 parliamentarians voted for the government to continue work with Centerra on forming a 50-50 Kumtor venture, while 35 voted against.

Centerra said in a statement that while the parliament’s resolution appeared to support a restructuring it contained a number of recommendations that are “materially inconsistent” with the December draft agreement.

‘Among other things, the resolution calls for further audits of the Kumtor operation and for the government and the general prosecutor’s office to continue pursuing claims for environmental and economic damages, which the company disputes,’ Centerra said.

Click here to read the full Reuters report.