Air Emissions

We routinely monitor and report the air quality at our mine site. This effort is supported by six high-volume samplers located strategically around the mine site to measure total suspended particulate (TSP) levels. At all stations, the annual average TSP concentration has been below the Kyrgyz 24-hour TSP limit of 500 micrograms/m3 for industrial zones. Selected TSP samples are also analyzed for cyanide, sulfur, arsenic, nickel, selenium, zinc, uranium, radium-226, and strontium-90.

We maintain mine roads and use water trucks to suppress traffic-related dust

The road from the village of Barskaun is shared by KGC’s vehicles and those of border services traveling to outlying villages via the Suek Pass and Jetimi Ridge. Also, it is used for cattle driving or transportation to summer pastures and backwards as well as by tourists visiting the Barskaun Gorge for recreation purposes, the number of individuals who use this road and have nothing to do with KGC being significant enough.

No dust deposition has been observed in plants growing just 1 meter off the road. Perhaps, this is due to considerable precipitation in this gorge as well as to speed limitation and road watering — steps taken by KGC for dust reduction purposes. Plants growing in the immediate vicinity to the road assume the bulk of the dust thus protecting the rest against it. Yet, even those plants that are nearest to the road do not appear to have been affected significantly by dust, according to observations.

In 2017, the Biology and Soil Institute under the Kyrgyz Republic Academy of Science carried out a research in the Barskaun Gorge. Its Report is available here.
KR NAC Report 2017