DUSHANBE, January 6, 2015, Asia-Plus -- Tajikistan’s gold reserves are estimated at nearly 500 tons, Murod Khol, the head of the main Geology Directorate under the Government of Tajikistan, announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 6.

According to him, they are currently developing ten gold deposits and the largest of them is located in the Panjakent district, Sughd province.    

Tajik chief geologist stressed that one of conditions for getting license for exploration and development of gold deposits in Tajikistan is to secure the full processing of gold inside the country.

China’s Zijin Mining, which owns 75 percent of the shares in Zeravshan Gold Company (ZGC), has built an affinage plant with annual capacity of 5,000 kilograms of gold, Khol noted.

Over the first eleven months of the last year, Tajikistan produced more than 3,000 kilograms of gold, which is more than 600 kilograms more than in the same period of 2013.

In 2013, gold producing companies operating in Tajikistan produced 2,674.4 kilograms of gold, which was 273.5 kilograms more than in 2012.

Tajikistan reportedly has 28 known gold deposits.  Three large gold mining companies now operate in Tajikistan: Tilloi Tojik (Tajik Gold – state-owned gold mining company); Tajik-Chinese JV Zeravshan Gold Company (ZGC); and Tajik-Canadian JV Aprelevka.  Most of gold comes from the Jilau deposit operated by Tajik-Chinese joint venture, Zeravshan Gold Company.