Canadian firm Centerra Gold has received all the necessary permits and approvals to restart open-pit mining at the Kumtor mine in the Kyrgyz Republic.
Centerra will also continue milling activity for the rest of 2020 at the mine site.
The Kumtor mine is located approximately 350km south-east of the capital Bishkek and around 60km north of the border with the People’s Republic of China.
Mining at the Kumtor open-pit mine was halted last month after two employees were reported missing following rock movement at the Lysii Waste Rock Dump.
The company noted that there was no sign of the duo after six weeks.
Hence, it decided to stop the search effort with the consent from the respective families and relevant Kyrgyz state authorities.
The authorities of Kyrgyz Republic have approved Centerra’s 2020 mine development plan for the Central Pit Development. This approval also includes the revised waste dumping plan and special safety measures to place waste rock material in the Central Valley and the Sarytor Waste Rock Dump.
Open-pit mining operations are currently progressing and expected to be fully operational by early next week.
Milling operations at the mine also continue to process stockpiled ore as planned for this year.
Meanwhile, Kumtor is also continuing its own internal review and cooperating to inquiries from Kyrgyz authorities regarding the Lysii Waste Rock Dump incident.
Centerra Gold said in a statement: “A funeral prayer was held at the site attended by family members, relatives and community supporters.
“Our thoughts, condolences and prayers are with our employees, families and our deepest appreciation is to all those involved in the search efforts.”
In 2018, Kumtor mine produced 534,563oz of gold.
