The Kumtor Gold Mine: Spewing Toxics From On High

September 15th, 2000

By Doug Norlen
September 2000

Located at almost 4,000 meters in the remote Tien Shan mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the Kumtor gold mine is believed to be the eighth largest gold field in the world. As the largest foreign investment in this Central Asian country, it represents nine percent of Kyrgyzstan’s GDP. In 1998, a cyanide and sodium hypochloride spill associated with the mine reportedly left several people dead, hundreds seeking medical treatment, and thousands evacuated. The defensive and evasive response from the IFC and its client in the aftermath of the spill, including an ongoing lack of information disclosure, and a community development process that is perceived to be contrived, have contributed to public distrust of the project and of foreign-financed development. Other conditions surrounding the Kumtor project, including the lack of adequate government emergency response and medical preparedness, also place in question IFC’s willingness or ability to control impacts of its projects.

Click Here to Download the Complete Report