Are there 4.5 billion tonnes of ore at Zhetim-Too? The minister has given his answer

Akyl Toktobaev, Kyrgyzstan’s Minister of Natural Resources, has stated that the information regarding 4.5 billion tonnes of iron ore at the Zhetim-Too deposit is currently based solely on projected resources, rather than on officially confirmed reserves.

According to him, the deposit currently has no reserves recorded on the state balance sheet. To confirm or refute the preliminary estimate, the state-owned enterprise ‘Kyrgyzgeologia’ will need to carry out a full range of geological exploration work.

The Minister emphasised that the licence for the site has been issued exclusively to ‘Kyrgyzgeologiya’ and has not been transferred to private companies. He noted that commercial production is still a long way off.

Once the geological exploration is complete, it will become clear whether the reserves at Zhetim-Too really amount to around 4.5 billion tonnes, or whether they turn out to be more or less. Only then will the state be able to proceed with developing projects to exploit the deposit.

Previously, estimates of Zhetim-Too’s prospective resources at around 4.5 billion tonnes had been repeatedly cited in public discourse; however, there has still been no official confirmation of these figures.