DUSHANBE, November 1, 2010, Asia-Plus — The company that will be granted the contract for the development of the Konimansuri Kalon (Big Konimansur) silver deposit in northern Tajikistan will have to build a small hydropower plant for its needs, according to the Ministry of Energy and Industries (MoI).
To ensure regular work of the mining and processing infrastructure this station must have capacity of 120-140 megawatt, the source at a MoEI said. “We cannot guarantee that we will be able to provide such a large volume of electric power,” said he. “Therefore, the investor will have to build the small hydropower plant for its needs.”
We will recall that the tender for development of the Konimansuri Kalon deposit was announced in November 2009. On March 2, 2010, the government approved the short list and four companies are on this list, namely BHP Billion from the Netherlands, 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 Kasson (Kazakhstan), Glenmore International (Switzerland), Konimansur (Kazakhstan) and ore refinery Adrasman (Tajikistan).
The companies will submit their bids for consideration to the Tajik government until the end of this year and the agreement will be signed at the beginning of 2011.
The Konimansuri Kalon in Asht district, Sughd province 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.
