Shareholders of the Canadian company Centerra Gold have approved a resolution with the Kyrgyz government and the firm Kyrgyzaltyn that paves the way for the completion of an agreement resolving a dispute that will put the Kumtor gold mine back in Kyrgyz hands.
Centerra Gold said 96.8 percent of the company's shareholders supported the resolution, while only 3.17 percent were against it.
Approval of the resolution was necessary to implement an April 4 agreement between Centerra Gold and Kyrgyzstan.
Kumtor had been the target of financial and environmental disagreements for years before turning into the subject of a control battle between the Kyrgyz state and Centerra Gold.
The Kyrgyz government has insisted that Centerra's operations endangered human lives and the environment, which the company denied.
In May 2021, the Canadian firm said it had "initiated binding arbitration to enforce its rights under longstanding investment agreements with the government."
Many Kyrgyz lawmakers have expressed concern about an alleged lack of transparency at Kumtor since the Kyrgyz government took control of the gold mine in April.
