The Kumtor deposit is one of the 10 largest gold deposits in the world. The mine is located at an altitude of 4,000 meters above sea level. It currently produces about 17 metric tons per year of gold, which amounts to roughly one-third of the country’s revenue.

“Underground mining will access higher grade ore and add another 115 mt of gold over the life of the mine,” said Almazbek Baryktabasov, president of the Kumtor Gold Co. (KGC). “Taking that into account along with the precious metals mined by the open pit, this is a big step forward.”

The Kumtor mine was nationalized in 2021, when Kyrgyzstan expropriated it from Canada’s Centerra Gold. Centerra considered but could not justify the investment in underground mining. Today, gold is fetching more than $2,000/ oz and KGC thinks it can make it work. While underground mining has a smaller environmental footprint than open-pit mining, there are serious environmental concerns related to the destruction of glaciers which hang above the open pit.