Mount Milligan also enters into strategic partnerships that contribute multi-year funding to local education and environmental initiatives. In 2018, Mount Milligan committed to three years of funding totalling C$45,000 to support a joint initiative between the local school district and the University of Northern British Columbia. The initiative will lead to the creation of an interactive, geospatial watershed portal and a series of co-learning activities for students, educators, and researchers, including more than 10 participating Indigenous groups. Mount Milligan also awards over C$15,000 in academic bursaries to local high school graduates each year.
We also work closely with private enterprises and community-based organizations in our regions to build up capacity of local SMEs in our regions, in order to minimize long-term community dependence on particular mining projects.
We established three micro-credit agencies (MCAs) in the Issyk-Kul region and have provided more than US$2.3 million toward implementing these MCAs since 2006. In 2015, the Djety-Ögüz MCA became financially independent from Kumtor and has continued to provide low-interest loans to SMEs in the region.
8,200+
Our MCAs have provided 8,200+ loans amounting to close to US$16 million and contributed to the creation of 4,000+ jobs in the region.
In 2019, our Kumtor project collaborated with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency on its “One Village, One Product” (OVOP) initiative. We also co-financed an initiative to create eight felt workshops in the Issyk-Kul region, which earned more than US$145,000. The felt workshops contribute to the livelihoods of more than 2,800 community members. Women employed in the felt goods facilities earn between US$100 and US$300 monthly.
1,462
The felt goods facilities provide direct livelihoods for 1,462 community members.