Bank of Jiangsu provides $123 million loan for Phase 2 of North Zarnisor Lead-Zinc Mining Deposit Project (Linked to Record ID#70000)

Project narrative

On August 6, 2011, a company called Tajik-China Mining Company LLC («Таджикско-Китайская горнопромышленная компания» or 塔中矿业有限公司 or 塔中矿业 or 塔中矿业有限公司) was officially incorporated in the Republic of Tajikistan. The project company was originally created a joint venture between Zijin Mining Group Co. Ltd. of China (75% ownership stake) and the Government of Tajikistan (25% ownership stake). Then, in July 2015, Tibet Summit Resources Co., Limited (西藏珠峰资源股份有限公司) -- a subsidiary of Haicheng Group -- acquired a 100% equity stake in Tajik-China Mining Company LLC. On February 23, 2016, Tajik-China Mining Company LLC and Bank of Jiangsu Co., Ltd. signed a "Strategic Cooperation Agreement" in Shanghai. Bank of Jiangsu Co., Ltd. subsequently issued a $123 million loan to Tajik-China Mining Company LLC for Phase 2 of the North Zarnisor Lead-Zinc Mining Deposit Project. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Standard Bank Plc. (工银标准银行公众有限公司) also issued a $100 million secured (collateralized) and short-term loan to Tajik-China Mining Company LLC for Phase 2 of the North Zarnisor Lead-Zinc Mining Deposit Project. The borrowing terms of these loans are unknown. The ICBC Standard Bank Plc. loan is captured via Record ID#70000. The Bank of Jiangsu loan is captured via Record ID#96272. The purpose of the project was to construct the Alden Topkan lead-zinc complex (metallurgical plant) within North Zarnissor/Matchnsky district and Sughd province with the capacity to produce 2 million tons of lead and zinc per year. The lead-zinc complex (metallurgical plant) draws upon the North Zarnisor (Altyn-Topkan) mining deposit in the settlement of Zarnisor. The project was originally expected to employ 1,300 people, of which 90% would be local. Tajik-China Mining Company LLC reportedly invested $510 million in the project (during its first and second phases). Yantai Jinyuan Mining Machinery Co., Ltd. was the EPC contractor responsible for Phase 2 implementation. Construction of the lead-zinc complex began in April 2015. Construction was completed and the facility was put into operation in March 2016. The production capacity of the facility has reportedly reached 2.5 million tons per year. Tajik-China Mining Company LLC, which is also known as Tajik-Sino Mining Company, is profitable. It is the top income-tax paying company in the extractive sector in Tajikistan and it reported in a public filing that it would return a profit of $218 million to shareholders in 2016. However, the North Zarnisor Lead-Zinc Mining Deposit Project has also become a source of local controversy in Tajikistan. As of January 2020, Tajik-China Mining Company LLC was unreachable, after numerous tax discrepancies were uncovered.