Kyrgyzstan Attracts First Indian Gold Miner with Altyn Tor Project

For the first time, an Indian gold mining company has entered the Kyrgyz market, as Deccan Gold Mines begins operations at the Altyn Tor gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan’s Naryn region.

The project is being developed through Deccan’s local subsidiary, Avelum Partners LLC, which holds a 60% stake in the mine, The Caspian Post reports, citing The Times of Central Asia.

Production of doré bars is scheduled to begin in October 2025.

Geological assessments estimate the Altyn Tor deposit contains approximately 4.6 million tons of gold-bearing ore with an average grade of 1.2 grams per ton, translating to roughly 60 tons of total gold reserves.

Hanuma Prasad Modali, CEO of Deccan Gold Mines, said preparations are progressing on schedule.

“Eleven conveyor systems have been installed at the site, and the crushing complex has been tested. In early September, the ball mill, one of the key components of the processing plant, will go online, enabling us to reach design capacity as planned,” Modali stated.

The company has positioned the project as a model of responsible mining, aiming to strengthen bilateral ties between India and Kyrgyzstan. Despite challenging climatic conditions at the site’s 3,300-meter elevation, year-round production is planned.

Altyn Tor forms part of the larger Solton-Sary gold deposit, originally discovered by Soviet geologists in the 1940s. Mining activity at the site was active through the 1990s and early 2000s but later ceased due to insufficient investment.

Deccan Gold Mines is also evaluating the potential for processing materials in the tailings pond, where residual gold remains.

The company remains the only publicly listed gold mining firm on the Indian stock exchange. News of its overseas expansion triggered a surge in share prices.

Earlier, Kyrgyzaltyn, the state-owned holding company, confirmed that production at the site was expected to commence in the second half of 2024.