The headwinds facing Canadian miner Centerra Gold in the Kyrgyz Republic seem to be escalating, as State-sponsored legal challenges and restrictive measures imposed by the country’s courts and State authorities hinder the company’s management of its flagship Kumtor mine, the single-largest economic contributor to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). Toronto-headquartered Centerra stated Monday that Kyrgyzstan – the second-most impoverished country in Central Asia, according to the European Union – had, through the Bishkek Inter-District Court on Friday, issued an interim order against subsidiary Kumtor Gold Company (KGC) to secure a $220-million claim made by the Kyrgyz Republic State Agency for Environmental Protection and Forestry (SAEPF) alleging that Kumtor owed environmental pollution fees.
