DUSHANBE, February 6, 2014, Asia-Plus — The government is still continuing work on holding tender to choose contractor for development of Tajikistan’s largest silver deposit, Konimansuri Kalon (Big Konimansur), Qodir Qosim, Chairman of the State Committee on Investments and State-owned Property Management (GosKomInvest), told journalists in Dushanbe on February 5.
“We hope to complete all works and to hold the tender to choose the contractor for development of this deposit before 2015,” Qosim noted.
The tender for development of the Konimansuri Kalon deposit was announced in November 2009 and on March 2, 2010, the government approved the short list and four companies, namely the Anglo-Australian mining company, BHP Billion, which is a leading global natural resources company, Ziti Mining, which is one of the largest Chinese gold producers, Sichuan Group Ltd (JNMC), which is largest Chinese nickel and cobalt producer, and a consortium that groups Kazzinc (Kazakhstan), Glencore International (Switzerland), Konimansur (Kazakhstan) and ore refinery Adrasman (Tajikistan) were on the list, but Ziti Mining and Sichuan Group Ltd (JNMC) later pulled out of the tender.
In July 2012, BHP Billion also informed the tender commission that it is withdrawing its bid to develop the Konimansuri Kalon deposit. This has left only one bidder, a consortium led by Kazakhstan”s Kazzinc which includes Kazzinc”s parent company Glencore International, as well as Konimansur and Adrasman.
We will recall that GosKomInvest official said on July 30, 2013 that if Tajikistan and a consortium led by Glencore International plc’s Kazzinc fail to arrive at a common view on terms of development of the Konimansuri Kalon deposit, the Tajik side may announce another tender to choose contactor for development of this silver deposit.
The Konimansuri Kalon deposit, which is located in Sughd’s Asht province, reportedly has possible silver reserves of more than 70,000 tons. The deposit is estimated to contain around 1 billion tons of ore and according to expert estimates, one ton of the deposit”s ore contained around 49 grams of silver, with 0.38 percent zinc and 0.49 percent lead.
The Konimansuri Kalon silver deposit project is expected to generate significant benefits for the country and help strengthen Tajikistan’s fiscal resources. The project is a key part of the government’s strategy to attract private investment and introduce best practices in procurement. Although Tajikistan has rich deposits of minerals, its remote geographic location and low levels of foreign investment have impeded the development of the mining sector.
