Monday, May 14, 2012 -
Talas Copper Gold is ready to spend $25 million on exploring its prospect in northwestern Kyrgyzstan in the coming three years, the firm's chief said on Monday.
"If we continue our exploration, during the next three years we will invest at least another $ 25 million,” Chief Executive Officer David Grant told the Knews.kg news agency.
Talas Copper Gold operates the Taldy-Bulak Talas mine, which is thought to hold more than 330 tons of gold.
The miner is run by South African company Gold Fields in partnership with Orsu Metals of Britain.
The project has already cost $20 million on equipment, personnel, research and drilling operations since it was launched in 2005.
“Now investors are happy with the way things are going,” said Grant.
Future plans depend on the results of exploration drilling, due to be completed in August 2012.
The company began drilling in early April using two rigs which will bore to a depth of 20,000 feet.
“If the results are consistently positive, then we move on to the pre-feasibility study with a more intensive exploration of the end of 2012 to 2014,” he said.
If the company finally decides to obtain an exploitation and production license, “investment could reach between $600 million to $1 billion," said Grant.
Kyrgyzstan needs foreign investment in its mining sector to support its floundering economy, which has struggled since the violent ethnic disturbances in the south of the country in 2010.