DUSHANBE, March 13, 2009, Asia-Plus — Launch of a consultative infrastructure project, Big Koni Mansour, was announced at the State Committee for Investments and State-owned Property Management (GosComInvest) in Dushanbe on March 12.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Nematjon Bouriyev, Senior Adviser to the President for Economic Matters, said that in cooperation with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which was selected as consultant, the government announced the holding of international tender for development of the silver deposit, Big Koni Mansour, in northern Tajikistan.
Holding of transparent tender will allow receiving better bids from investors interested in this silver deposits and concluding profitable agreement, the adviser said, noting that development of the Big Koni Mansour, which is one of world’s largest silver deposits, might attract considerable investments.
According to him, development of that deposit would promote create of jobs and development of infrastructure in the country.
For his part, the GosComInvest head Farrukh Hamraliyev said that the project would attract international investors into the country’s mining sector and create new economic opportunities for the government.
Hamraliyev noted that the project was a key part of the government’s strategy on attraction of private investments and introduction of best methods in the field of public purchase. “Although Tajikistan is rich in different natural, insufficient direct foreign investments impede development of the mining sector,” the GosComInvest head said.
He further added that under the advisory services agreement signed between the Tajik government and the IFC, International Finance Corporation would provide advisory services during ten months and appropriate documentation for holding of international tender would be prepared during that period.
In the meantime, according to press release issued by IFC Tajikistan yesterday, major part of the project expenses would be financed by DevCo, which is an untied multi-donor facility established by IFC and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), as well as by the governments of Austria, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Big Koni Mansour in Sughd’s Asht district is estimated to contain around 1 billion tons of ore. According to specialists, one ton of the deposit”s ore contained around 49 grams of silver, with 0.38 percent zinc and 0.49 percent lead. Silver reserves at the Big Koni Mansour are estimated to be over 50,000 tons, making it the fourth largest silver deposit in the world.
We will recall that the world”s top nickel producer, Russia’s Norislk Nickel, in November 2006 showed interested in developing Tajikistan”s Big Koni Mansour, which is in a category of unique and big world-class assets.
