Kentor Gold (ASX: KGL) has welcomed the Krygyz Government decision to establish a Commission of Enquiry for the Andash Project, with a view to speeding up the approval process.
The Commission will consist of 3 members of parliament, which will produce a final report by 1 March 2011.
Kentor said the terms of the enquiry are yet to be released, but from discussions with the Minister of Natural Resources, Kentor understands that the Commission will make recommendations on how any concerns being expressed by some members of the local community should be reconciled with the pressing economic development plans of the Republic.
Kentor supports involvement of the central government which will assist in the Andash approval process.
At Andash, on-site activities have been suspended as the review is undertaken, although all off-site activities including engineering, planning and environmental permitting are continuing.
Kentor said a favourable outcome on 1 March 2011 will allow the company to continue its development activities without impacting on the current schedule.
Andash is forecast to commence gold production in early 2012, with the annual forecast of 70,000 ounces of gold and 7,400 tonnes of copper for an initial six years.