TMCnet News
No reason to reinstate Oxus Gold's license - Kyrgyz PM(Interfax News Agency Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)BISHKEK. Feb 14 (Interfax) - Kyrgyzstan's prime minister, Felix Kulov, said there was no reason to reinstate the Jerooy gold field license to Britain's Oxus Gold Plc. "Oxus has not fulfilled its investment obligations. There are no reasons to reinstate the license. The agreement will be reviewed, and all expenditures will be reimbursed. Workers will be paid while an agreement is being worked out with a new investor," Kulov said. "The standstill is costing our republic dearly. But Jerooy has not been developed for a long time, investors have shown nothing more than their desire. The license was revoked on the basis of inspections and the law, the government has said it will look at proposals by other investors willing to honor their commitments. We might have to tighten our conditions. We might demand a $15-million deposit. We might also demand that deadlines must not be missed by more than three months. Otherwise the license might be revoked, without reimbursement of costs for the first month of operations," said Olga Volosatykh, spokeswoman for the Industry, Trade and Tourism Ministry, citing a statement made by Kulov at a meeting hosted by the ministry at the beginning of February. Oxus, which has a 67% and has already invested $46 million in the Jerooy project, announced on February 5 that it had lost the license due to failure to fulfill the license conditions. Total reserves at the Jerooy field are estimated at 3.45 million Troy ounces of gold and the field will have a life of 11 years.Production at the field should have begun in mid-2005, but this did not happen. Planned ore extraction is 1 million tonnes per year, with gold production of 180,000 Troy ounces per year. The field will be developed by open and underground mining. |