BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan (AP) — Canadian gold miner Kumtor has expressed concerns for its security as protesters block the road leading to an important field in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.
Kumtor spokesman Sergei Dedyukhin said Friday that the demonstration has not yet affected production and that company representatives are negotiating with residents.
A youth group in the Issyk Kul province, where the miner is based, has demanded improvements in the mine's environmental impact on the surrounding area.
The group says that unless company officials meet with its representatives, they will sever electricity supplies to the mine.
Around 100 people have been blocking the road to the facility for three days.
Kumtor accounts for almost 12 percent of the economy in this struggling former Soviet nation on China's western border.
