Tag Archives: business

Lydian secures funds to develop Armenian gold mine

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Toronto-listed miner Lydian International said it had reached a $325m financing agreement to develop a gold mine in Armenia, an initiative that will boost the country’s gold output.

In a detailed statement, the company said it will receive a line of funding from US-based investment firms Orion Mine Finance and Resource Capital Funds. The money will be used to start construction at the Amulsar gold project in south- central Armenia.

Once preparation work is completed next year according to the company, Lydian forecasts a production rate of around 6 tonnes of gold per year from the Amulsar project. For a comparison, Armenia produced 3.5 tonnes of gold in 2013.

Lydian has been working on financing the project since 2006.

A fall in gold prices, down around 13% year-on-year on Dec. 1 at $1,069/ounce – a 5-year low, has put pressure on mining companies with operations in the South Caucasus and Central Asia.

Lydian’s CEO Howard Stevenson said the agreement with Orion and RCF was a major step forward, especially considering the current financial markets.

“The Financing provides over 75% of the overall financing requirement, which is a strong achievement in the current financial market,” Mr Stevenson said in a company statement

Armenian PM Hovik Abrahamyan also said the government was pleased Lydian had won backing for the project.

“The financing of the construction of the Amulsar Mine represents a significant step forward in the development of the mining industry in Armenia,” Mr Abrahamyan said in a statement.

Gold is an important cash earner for the Armenian government but although potentially lucrative for the state, the project has angered people who worry about the environmental degradation. In 2014, police dispersed a large crowd of protesters around the mine.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Pegasus flies to Turkmenistan

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) –Turkey’s low-cost airline Pegasus will open a new Istanbul-Turkmenbashi route, according to Turkmenistan’s official press service. Pegasus would become the first international airline to fly to Turkmenbashi, a port city on the Caspian Sea. The nearby Awaza resort should benefit from this new route.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Chinese Kyrgyz refinery opens

NOV. 28 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – A $60m Chinese-built oil refinery opened in Tokmok in the north of Kyrgyzstan, the second refinery that China has constructed in the country. Both the Chinese-refineries will rely on Russian crude oil to operate. Kyrgyzstan has been facing a shortage of refined petrol products.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Kazakhstan opens $1.2b gas pipeline

DEC. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Kazakhstan’s Kaztransgas, the state- owned pipeline monopoly, opened a third pipeline pumping gas to China, highlighting Chinese dominance over Central Asia’s energy resources.

Line C will bring the total capacity of the Kazakhstan-China pipeline to 55b cubic metres of gas a year. The Kazakhstan-China pipeline is part of

the 1,300km pipeline network that spans Central Asia. Its main purpose is to pump Turkmen gas to China, although Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan also contribute.

The pipeline cost $1.2b to build and was described by Kaztransgas as the biggest infrastructure project in independent Kazakhstan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Armenian gold project go-ahead

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – Toronto-listed Lydian International said it had secured the $325m finance needed to exploit a major gold deposit in Armenia. The deposit at Amulsar could transform Armenia’s economy.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

EBRD to boost activity in Armenia

DEC. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said that its priorities in Armenia over the next four years would be to improve small business competitiveness, develop local capital markets and improve public utilities. The EBRD is a major investor in Armenia with over $1b worth of investments.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Lukoil ups Ubekistan’s production

DEC. 1 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian oil company Lukoil said it increased both investment and production in Uzbekistan’s gas sector in the first nine months of 2015. Investment grew by 38% to $759m, compared to last year. Production rose to 4.7b cubic metres, up 26% from around 3.7b cubic metres last year. Lukoil is one of Uzbekistan’s biggest investors. Uzbekistan has said it wants to increase its gas production.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

China signs deal on Kazakh refinery

NOV. 27 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – China Petroleum Engineering & Construction signed a deal with Kazakhstan’s state-owned Kazmunaigas to modernise the oil refinery at Shymkent, south Kazakhstan. The upgrade will also mean the refinery’s capacity increases to 6m tonnes from 5.25m tonnes. Kazakhstan needs to increase its refinery capacity.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Auchan imports Tajik products

DEC. 2 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) — The Russian branch of French retailer Auchan said it would import goods from Tajikistan, Morocco and China to make up for the decline in imports from Turkey, which will be subjected to an import ban imposed by Russia after a Turkish plane shot down a Russian fighter-jet over Syria. Auchan will open a supermarket in Dushanbe in 2016. Auchan already operates a Russia-Tajikistan distribution line.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)

Fire breaks out on Azerbaijani oil rig

DEC. 4 2015 (The Conway Bulletin) – At least one person has died and another 29 people are missing after an oil platform in the Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea caught fire.The platform is part of the Gunehsli field which is operated by BP.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 259, published on Dec. 4 2015)