Kumtor

Source: Heike Holdinghausen, taz.de

Die Kumtor-Mine verseucht das Land. Die Europäische Entwicklungsbank ist daran beteiligt. Das könnte Merkel in Kirgistan ansprechen.

BERLIN taz | Noch nie war ein deutscher Regierungschef in der kirgisischen Hauptstadt Bisch­kek, insofern betritt Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) auf ihrer Reise Neuland.

Source: Ryskeldi Satke, Glacier Hub

The most controversial gold mining project in Central Asia is back in the spotlight again this month. Canadian mining company Centerra Gold has re-launched its public relations campaign in Kyrgyzstan to improve the company’s image over the status of glaciers at the Kumtor gold mine, one of the world’s biggest open-pit gold mines and a flagship project that accounts for 90 percent of company’s profits.

Source: Ryskeldi Satke , Al Jazeera

The Kumtor mine, built on a glacier high in the Tian Shan mountains, continues to attract fierce criticism from locals.

Tian Shan mountain range, Kyrgyzstan - Hidden in a valley in Kyrgyzstan's Tian Shan mountains lies the magnificent Issyk-Kul Lake, one of the highest and deepest lakes in the world and a top tourist destination in the region.

Source: Claire Provost and Ryskeldi Satke, The Guardian

The remote Issyk Kul province in eastern Kyrgyzstan, on the border with China, is home to some of the most stunning vistas of the rugged Tian Shan mountain range that cuts through much of Central Asia. Mountain goats and endangered snow leopards roam the rocky slopes, while rare species of dandelion and wild tulip bloom in alpine meadows.

Source: Robin Forestier-Walker, Al Jazeera

A gold mine is creating big profits in Kyrgyzstan, but there are many who say they are not seeing any of the profits. People in areas surrounding the Kumtor gold mine say they want better facilities like schools and hospitals.

Source: Franco Galdini , IRIN

BISHKEK, 2 décembre 2015 (IRIN) - High in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan Mountains, the twin effects of climate change and gold mining have combined to pose a potential environmental and human health disaster. A melting glacier is feeding a rapidly expanding lake, which experts fear could burst its banks and overrun a mine tailings pond, releasing toxic waste into the region’s water system.

Source: Ryskeldi Satke, The Diplomat

Kyrgyzstan’s “foreign agent” frenzy, actively supported by Russia, involved the Kyrgyz state security service (GKNB) this month after Prague-based environmental NGO CEE Bankwatch traveled to the site of protests against the Kumtor gold mine project operated by Canadian mining company Centerra Gold.

Source: Ryskeldi Satke, Glacier Hub

For years, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been involved in the Kumtor mining project, which some experts say is contaminating ground and surface waters. Kyrgyz local communities have been complaining that the gold mine is causing negative environmental and social impacts on the nearby villages. Additionally, international NGOs and Kyrgyz environmentalists believe that the Canadian-operated Centerra Gold mine is triggering rapid glacier melt due to company’s mining practices. The EBRD has denied these claims.

Source: , Glacier Hub

In light of the Mount Polley tailings dam spill in British Columbia, Canada, environmental activists in Kyrgyzstan are ringing alarm bells over a possible scenario of a similar outburst at Petrov Lake near the Kumtor gold mine project. At Mount Polley, the tailings dam at a copper and gold mine burst in August last year, spilling 25 million cubic meters of toxic waste into nearby lakes. The British Columbia provincial government appointed a commission to probe into the disaster.