The southern shore of Issyk-Kul, a mountainous lake in northern Kyrgyzstan, is famous not only for its pristine nature, but also for the largest open-cast gold mine in the Central Asian state. Since operations started in 1997, on average approximately 17 tonnes of gold have been mined every year at Kumtor, which sits at 4,000 metres above sea level. In the words of one expert, Kumtor is the largest mining operation in the world that interferes with glaciers.
Kyrgyzstan’s new government, which came to power in the chaos that followed last year’s parliamentary election, has now revoked the mining license for the Canadian company, Centerra, which operates Kumtor. The government is demanding $3bn in compensation for the mine’s ecological damage.
This sudden interest in protecting the environment is unusual for Kyrgyzstan, where the authorities have previously chosen to ignore the problems.
