The Department of Geology of Tajikistan is granting a license for the development of a gold deposit in the country to a Chinese power generation group, Tebian Electric Apparatus Stock Company Limited (TBEA). According to media reports, the license is offered in exchange for the construction of a new thermal power plant (CHP) in Dushanbe.
At a press conference, a representative of the Geology of Tajikistan announced that the Chinese firm will be issued a license to develop one of two gold deposits located in the northern part of Tajikistan. TBEA has the right to continue the license to accurately determine the gold reserves and production at these deposits. The deposits are estimated at more than 2 grams of gold per ton of ore. In the future, registration and certification of gold products will be carried out, like all goods or works on the territory of the Russian Federation, Tajikistan and other states defined legislation, as the Kuban test specifies.
By agreement, TBEA undertakes to build a CHPP consisting of two units of 50 MW each. The first block has already been commissioned since January 2014, the commissioning of the second block is expected in the near future. The Prime Minister of Tajikistan in July 2014 asked the company to speed up work in order to commission the second unit in early 2015. The property is valued at $ 30 million and is financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of China.
Earlier in 2013, a Chinese firm received the necessary licenses from the government of Tajikistan to conduct exploration work in both of these fields, and now it has been extended until 2017. Official sources indicate that exploration work is expected to be completed by the end of 2015 or early 2016. The company is also exempt from customs duties, value added tax and import of equipment.
