Huge Silver Deposit Awaits Investment
Huge Silver Deposit Awaits Investment
As Tajikistan prepares to seek bids from investors interested in one of the world’s largest silver deposits, NBCentralAsia observers recommend that the government form a consortium which will process the silver in country.
By the end of the year, the government plans to open an international tender to develop the Greater Koni Mansur deposits in the world, the Aziya Plus news agency reported last week. A strategy for the tender is being worked on, and it is hoped the venture will attract some of the biggest names in international mining.
An anonymous source at the ministry of economic development and trade has told NBCentralAsia that so far, only Russian and Kazak businesses have expressed an interest, although businessmen from Qatar are also studying the draft proposal.
The size of the investment required is estimated at two billion US dollars.
Reserves at Koni Mansur are estimated to be over 50,000 tons, making it the fourth largest silver deposit in the world. It also has significant amounts of zinc and lead ore.
Experts polled by NBCentralAsia say the best outcome for Tajikistan would be a national consortium involving several companies that invests in processing the silver before it is exported.
Mahmadsharif Nizomov, the deputy head of the State Committee for Investment and State Asset Management, says the tender must be transparent and must attract the strongest international companies, since it represent a defining moment for Kyrgyzstan’s mining industry.
When looking into companies to bring into the consortium, the state commission should consider their financial state, experience in the mining industry, capacity to introduce new technology and ability to find markets for the product, Nizomov says.
In November 2006, the Russian company Norilsk Nickel said that it was ready to invest in Koni Mansur, on condition that this part of northern Tajikistan was declared a free economic zone. Analysts say this option would mean the government losing a great deal of taxes, although officially the proposal is still under review.
Shohmadzun Marufshoev, a senior manager Pamir Expedition, a Tajik geological exploration firm, agrees that it would be more profitable for Tajikistan to build a domestic silver refining plant than to export the ore.
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He added that the government needs to ensure environmental considerations are taken into account when drafting plans for mining at Koni Mansur.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
By the end of the year, the government plans to open an international tender to develop the Greater Koni Mansur deposits in the world, the Aziya Plus news agency reported last week. A strategy for the tender is being worked on, and it is hoped the venture will attract some of the biggest names in international mining.
An anonymous source at the ministry of economic development and trade has told NBCentralAsia that so far, only Russian and Kazak businesses have expressed an interest, although businessmen from Qatar are also studying the draft proposal.
The size of the investment required is estimated at two billion US dollars.
Reserves at Koni Mansur are estimated to be over 50,000 tons, making it the fourth largest silver deposit in the world. It also has significant amounts of zinc and lead ore.
Experts polled by NBCentralAsia say the best outcome for Tajikistan would be a national consortium involving several companies that invests in processing the silver before it is exported.
Mahmadsharif Nizomov, the deputy head of the State Committee for Investment and State Asset Management, says the tender must be transparent and must attract the strongest international companies, since it represent a defining moment for Kyrgyzstan’s mining industry.
When looking into companies to bring into the consortium, the state commission should consider their financial state, experience in the mining industry, capacity to introduce new technology and ability to find markets for the product, Nizomov says.
In November 2006, the Russian company Norilsk Nickel said that it was ready to invest in Koni Mansur, on condition that this part of northern Tajikistan was declared a free economic zone. Analysts say this option would mean the government losing a great deal of taxes, although officially the proposal is still under review.
Shohmadzun Marufshoev, a senior manager Pamir Expedition, a Tajik geological exploration firm, agrees that it would be more profitable for Tajikistan to build a domestic silver refining plant than to export the ore.
.
He added that the government needs to ensure environmental considerations are taken into account when drafting plans for mining at Koni Mansur.
(News Briefing Central Asia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region.)
