China Eximbank provides loan for Kuru-Tegerek Copper and Gold Resources Development Project

On July 24, 2017, the China Eximbank signed a loan agreement with Kichi-Chaarat Closed Joint Stock Company — a special purpose vehicle and joint venture of China National Gold Group Corporation (CNGC) [84% ownership stake] and China CAMC Engineering Hong Kong Co Ltd [16% ownership stake] — for the Kuru-Tegerek Copper and Gold Resources Development Project. No sovereign guarantee was provided by the Government of the Kyrgyz Republic in support of the loan. The total cost of the project was $220 million; however, the face value of the China Eximbank loan that supported the project is unknown. In January 2012, CNGC acquired a 100% ownership stake in Kuru-Tegerek Copper-Gold deposit (via Kichi-Chaarat Closed Joint Stock Company). Then, in January 2013, CNGC sold a 16% ownership stake in Kichi-Chaarat Closed Joint Stock Company to China CAMC Engineering Hong Kong Co Ltd. The purpose of this project was to develop the Kuru-Tegerek copper and gold mine in Chatkal district and the Jalal-Abad oblast of Kyrgyzstan. Upon completion, the mine was expected to have an annual processing capacity of about 1.8 million tons, including an annual output of 11,000 tons of copper, 600 kg of gold and 4.6 tons of silver. The annual sales income from the mine was expected to be $100 million. The mine was also expected to be the largest copper-gold mine and the largest underground mine in Kyrgyzstan. Construction began in 2014 and the mine was official put into operation (production) on August 14, 2019. The project has reportedly generated 74 jobs for Chinese employees and 347 jobs for Kyrgyz employees.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Kuru-Tegerek Gold Mine Development Project. The Chinese project title is 库鲁-捷盖列克铜金矿项目 or 第一金集团金矿项目 or 恰拉特金矿 or 库鲁捷盖列克铜金矿资源开发项目. 2. The project company (SPV) is also known as Kichi-Chaarat CJSC or Kichi Chaarat Gold Mining Company or 吉尔吉斯凯奇恰拉特公司 or 恰拉特封闭式股份公司 or 凯奇公司. 3. On September 13, 2016, Skyland (BVI) — a wholly owned subsidiary of China Gold International Resources Corp. Ltd — entered into a loan agreement with Kichi Chaarat CISC (“Kichi”) a subsidiary of CNGC, pursuant to which Skyland (BVI) as a lender, agreed to provide the loan in the principal amount up to $30 million and expiring on July 10, 2017, to Kichi as borrower. On July 31, 2017, the loan was extended from July 10, 2017 to July 31, 2017 and was fully settled as at the end of the extended loan term. 4. The face value of the loan is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes that the $220 million was financed according to a debt-to-equity ratio of 70:30. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

5

Number of total sources

7