Cases / Mining · Kyrgyzstan · date not stated
Kyrgyzstan takes control of Kumtor gold mine amid penalty dispute
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Kyrgyzstan took control of the Kumtor gold mine from Centerra Gold, after an environmental penalty of about US$3 billion became a bargaining point. RFE/RL reported a cyanide spill at the mine about which residents were not informed for five hours.
What?
Kyrgyzstan took control of the Kumtor gold mine, with an environmental penalty of about US$3 billion in dispute. Mining Technology
Where?
Kumtor gold mine, Kyrgyzstan
When?
Not stated in the sources reviewed; the spill and the takeover dates are not recorded.
Who?
Gained
- Government of Kyrgyzstan — control of the Kumtor mine Mining Technology
Lost
- Centerra Gold — the Kumtor mine, handed to Kyrgyzstan Mining.com
Harmed
- Residents near Kumtor — not informed for five hours about a cyanide spill RFE/RL
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Nationalisation after a penalty dispute; a glacier penalty was reported as leverage. Mining.com
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
Mining Technology reported that Kyrgyzstan seized control of the Kumtor mine in a dispute over a penalty of about US$3 billion.
Mining.com reported that a glacier penalty was used as leverage in the nationalisation, which ended the dispute with Centerra Gold.
RFE/RL reported a cyanide spill at Kumtor, with residents not informed for five hours.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the exact penalty amount, given as US$3.1 billion in one record and about US$3 billion in a headline.
- Unclear Whether the penalty was formally withdrawn is not stated in the sources reviewed.
- Not measured The environmental damage from the cyanide spill is not measured in the sources reviewed.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Kyrgyzstan seizes control of Kumtor mineMining Technology ·