Kumtor Gold Mine by Michael Karavanov

December 20, 2008. Kyrgyzstan, Kumtor Gold Mine panorama. Altitude around 4000m above sea level.

from www.centerragold.com/properties/kumtor /
Centerra owns 100% of the Kumtor gold mine through its wholly owned subsidiary Kumtor Gold Company. Kumtor is located in the Kyrgyz Republic, about 350 kilometres southeast of the capital Bishkek and about 60 kilometres north of the border with the Peoples Republic of China. It is the largest gold mine operated in Central Asia by a Western-based company, having produced more than 6 million ounces of gold between 1997 and the end of 2007. In 2008 gold production exceeded 556,000 ounces.

In 2009 Kumtor produced over 525,000 ounces of gold. In the fourth quarter 2009, Kumtor set a quarterly record, producing over 247,000 ounces of gold. To date Kumtor has produced more than 7.2 million ounces of gold.

The Kumtor gold deposit is located in the southern Tien Shan Metallogenic Belt, a major suture that traverses Central Asia, from Uzbekistan in the west through Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic into northwestern China, a distance of more than 1,500 kilometres. A number of important mesothermal-type gold deposits occur along this belt including Muruntau, Zarmitan, Jilau and Kumtor.