Gross environmental violations revealed at Ishtamberdy deposit

17:42, 18 июля 2025, Bishkek - 24-kg.com news agency , Turdubek ALYMBAEV

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources, Ecology and Technical Supervision of Kyrgyzstan Marat Zhusupbekov made a working visit to Ishtamberdy deposit, which is being developed by Full Gold Mining. The goal was to check compliance with environmental and mining regulations, the press service of the ministry reported.

During the inspection, specialists recorded serious violations of sanitary and environmental requirements:

• Scattered metal and concentrate waste;
• Massive accumulation of industrial waste;
• Suspension of the operation of the processing plant;
• Violation of the storage conditions for chemical reagents (including residues on press filters);
• Illegal felling of trees, including juniper, and the presence of dried out plantings;
• Dangerous placement of medical waste;
• Leakage of contaminated water in adit No. 6 through accumulations of garbage, which violates sanitary standards.

Marat Zhusupbekov made a verbal reprimand to the company’s management and instructed the Environmental and Technical Supervision Service to conduct a comprehensive inspection with subsequent application of measures in accordance with the legislation of the Kyrgyz Republic.

Ishtamberdy is one of the largest gold deposits in the region, owned by Full Gold Mining. In the past, the company has already attracted the attention of environmentalists and law enforcement agencies: in 2019, the State Environmental and Technical Inspectorate identified dozens of violations, for which a fine of about 46,000 soms was imposed, and a claim was filed for more than 561,000 soms. In 2020, a criminal case was opened on the facts of violations of the rules for handling chemically hazardous substances.