Azerbaijan, Baku, June 1 / Trend E. Kosolapova/
A new company will be created to mine the Kumtor gold deposit in Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz Prime Minister Zhantoro Satybaldyev said during his working visit to the Issyk-Kul region, the Kyrgyz government reported on Saturday.
The company will be created on the basis of Kumtor Gold Company and Kumtor Operating Company.
Meanwhile the head of Kumtor Operating Company Rodney Stuparik said that the company is working normally and will reach the former level of production on June 3 if no obstacle arises.
Earlier several hundred of the Issyk-Kul region's residents blocked the road running to the Kumtor mine. Moreover, they occupied the Tamga electric station and cut off the power supply to the mine and the gold extracting factory. The rioters demanded to cancel the contract with the mine's operator Ganterra Gold. On Friday, the police managed to capture the organizers of the riots. On the same day, protesters clashed with police in some villages near the Issyk-Kul Lake. The police used non-lethal weapons; some 55 people were injured as a result. A state of emergency and curfew were imposed in the region.