Kara-Suu Gold Prospecting Area

The Kara-Suu Gold Prospecting Area is a stretch of the upper Kara-Suu River at about 2,460 meters, above the Kara-Suu Rapids and Chong-Kapka at the head of the Kara-Suu Canyon, where artisanal miners pan for placer gold. It lies on the tribal side of the Qara-Chik Demarcation Line, in the Talas Alatau planning zone of the Autonomous Tribal Regions (ATR). Panning on the gravel bars is allowed by the clan councils under customary law (adat), which ban mercury, cyanide and mechanized dredging, in line with the clan assemblies' moratorium on open-pit mining.^[1] In 2003, during the territorial period, herders petitioned the Territorial Legislature of Irad against a commercial gold license on the river, which was not developed.^[2] The Chatkal Placer Mining Inspectorate exchanges water-quality data on the river with tribal monitors through UN liaison channels.

References

1. ^ United Nations Mission in Irad (2022). Environmental Conditions in the Mining Districts of the Talas Alatau. Report to the Secretary-General, Talas.
2. ^ Talas Herald (May 14, 2003). 'Herders Petition Legislature over Kara-Suu Gold License.' Talas.