$180 million is to be invested in the construction of the underground mine at Jerua

Alliance Altyn plans to invest $180 million in the construction of an underground mine at the Jeruy deposit. The project will enable the extraction of an additional 1.5 tonnes of gold annually.

The information was presented at the 8th Kyrgyz-Russian Economic Forum in Issyk-Kul.

VTB Bank intends to finance $100 million of the project’s total cost. The construction of the underground mine will be the largest component of Alliance Altyn’s new investment programme for 2026–2028.

In total, the company plans to invest $240 million in production development over this period. In addition to the underground mine, funds will be allocated to:

• the construction of a small hydroelectric power station with a capacity of 24 MW — $40 million;
• the modernisation of the gold processing plant — $20 million.

The modernisation will enable ore processing capacity to be increased from 1.3 million to 1.6 million tonnes per year. The construction of the small hydroelectric power station, costing $25 million, will be financed by the Russian-Kyrgyz Development Fund and the Eurasian Development Bank.

As at 30 June this year, $465 million had already been invested in the Jeruy project. Taking the new programme into account, the total volume of announced investments will reach $705 million.

The launch of underground mining is also expected to boost employment. Currently, 1,771 people are employed by the company and its contractors, 97 per cent of whom are Kyrgyz citizens. By 2028, the workforce is planned to be increased to 3,000.

Between 2016 and June 2026, the company transferred 59 billion KGS to the Kyrgyz budget and extra-budgetary funds. Following the launch of the underground mine and the modernisation of the processing plant, the company estimates that the average annual volume of payments could reach 18 billion KGS.