China's Shen Zhou Mining and Resources, Inc. (CSZM) announced in its annual report that it had completed the acquisition of a large-scale gold and copper mine in the Kyrgyz Republic.

The mine, owned by the Kichi-Chaarat Closed Joint Stock Company, was acquired through a deal late last month, when the Inner Mongolia Xiangzhen Mining Group Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of CSZM, acquired Kichi-Chaarat's parent company, Kyrgyz-based Tun Lin Limited Liability.

The cost was US$10 million, the report said.

Jessica Yu, Chief Executive Officer of Shen Zhou Mining Resources, said nonferrous reserves in Kyrgyzstan were "plentiful and valuable" and the acquisition would "strengthen the company's resources reserves in the longer term."

The Kuru-Tegerek Copper-Gold deposit, in the western part of the Kyrgyz Republic, contains 97.36 tons of gold and 1.02 million tons of copper. 

(Xinhua News Agency December 25, 2007)