Alternatives
The future of the mine, the smelter and ultimately the town Industrial minerals
of Khaidarkan itself largely depends on how mercury pro- Apart from gold, there are also opportunities for non-
duction can be replaced with other economic activities. metallic mining in the area around Khaidarkan. Con-
Sustaining people’s livelihoods beyond cinnabar mining struction materials, such as magnesite, serpentinite
and processing will be the main objective and here the UN and gypsum appear to be very attractive for the local
project and the Kyrgyz action plan have sketched out po- market. Magnesite and serpentinite are used for fire re-
tential solutions: sistant bricks, which are essential for cement kilns: with
two newly constructed cement plants in the vicinity of
Gold mining Khaidarkan, there are potential clients nearby. Gypsum
Given the history of the area, existing experience and is of use in cement production and in construction ma-
skills, and technical equipment in place, activities relat- terials, likely to find markets in the current construction
ed to extraction of other, less hazardous minerals, ap- boom in southern Kyrgyzstan and the Ferghana Valley.
pears to be a real option. This is recognized in the Coun-
try Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic for Bentonite, a clay material that can be mined locally,
2009–11 that prioritizes the development of gold mining serves many purposes ranging from cosmetics to drill-
and production. There are many gold deposits in southern ing agents. It is commonly used as a capping material
Kyrgyzstan that were considered technically challenging for environmental remediation. Given the many prob-
during Soviet times and therefore not further developed. lematic areas in Khaidarkan requiring remediation, ben-
With new technologies in place, their exploitation be- tonite production on the site would be very useful.
comes feasible and constitutes a promising opportunity
for the entire region. However, since many of these de- Agriculture and small-scale development
posits are small, individual processing facilities and tedi- While for the rest of southern Kyrgyzstan agriculture is
ous bureaucratic processes for licenses are costly and the main economic sector, it is relatively poorly devel-
may have a deterrent effect. As an alternative, ore mined oped in the Khaidarkan valley, which is mainly limited
at those deposits could be transported to processing by harsh climatic conditions. Agriculture in the valley
plants in China or Kazakhstan. To retain the benefits of could however be improved by optimizing land use,
such operations in Kyrgyzstan, it would be of interest to strengthening local food processing and improving the
develop a hub for ore processing in southern Kyrgyzstan, marketing of agricultural products. By increasing the
for example in Khaidarkan. The existing ore enrichment local production and promoting related businesses,
plant is suitable for this type of work although it requires the valley could become more self-sustaining and less
refurbishment. vulnerable to economic changes such as decline of the
mercury industry.
The Khaidarkan plant is interested in diversifying its ac-
tivities towards gold extraction and processing and has Other non-industrial opportunities lie in artisanal prod-
recently received an offer to process gold ores mined ucts and services such as carpet weaving, handicrafts
about 400 kilometres east of Khaidarkan. The estimated and souvenir production. Car repair, plumbing, con-
investment required to initiate gold processing is between struction are also activities where local business can
US$1 and 2 million. be developed as an income source. An initiative called
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