The Kumtor open pit mine is located about 350 kilometers (220 miles) southeast of the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek and 80 kilometers south of Lake Issyk-Kul, which is close to the border with China. Kumtor is one of the largest gold mines in Central Asia, and its total reserves are estimated at 195.2 metric tons. The mine is operated by the Kumtor Operating Co., a joint venture by Centerra Gold, which holds a 67 percent stake, and Kyrgyz state-owned mining conglomerate Kyrgyzaltyn, which holds a 33 percent stake. Kumtor's activity is responsible for about 60 percent of Kyrgyzstan's industrial output, more than half of Kyrgyzstan's export revenue and about 12 percent of the country's gross domestic product. Thus Kumtor's impact on the Kyrgyz economy is substantial. Opposition lawmakers in the parliament led the recent push for nationalization, citing the mine's purported negative impact on the environment as a reason it should be brought under full state control. However, the underlying goal is simply to increase the revenues that the mine brings in for the government. During the previous nationalization push in 2007, the government eventually dropped the effort after Centerra Gold agreed to boost Bishkek's stake in the mine from 16 percent to its current level of 33 percent. Lawmakers in parliament dropped the nationalization effort after agreeing to form the commission tasked with revising the terms of Kyrgyzstan's contract with Centerra Gold, which is due to present a new contract to the parliament by October.
