The gold miner and the Kyrgyz government have clashed over financial and environmental issues related to the mine for years. Their standoff took a turn for the worse in May 2021, when the nation took control of the mine, alleging that the company was running it in a way that was detrimental to both the environment and nearby communities.
Centerra, which has denied all the allegations, kicked off arbitration shortly after and sued former director Tengiz Bolturuk, claiming that the dual Canadian and Kyrgyz citizen had secretly co-operated to stage the expropriation.
The company had laid out a framework earlier this year for resolving the dispute outside of court. In it, Centerra proposed to receive about 26.1% of its common stock held by local gold refiner Kyrgyzaltyn JSC. It also said the state should assume all responsibility for the company’s two Kyrgyz subsidiaries as well as the giant mine.
Kumtor, which accounts for…
