Michael Fisher, President of Kumtor Operating Company (KOC) listens to questions during an interview with Reuters in Bishkek March 11, 2013. KOC employs around 3,400 full-time and contract workers and Kumtor mine in the Tien Shan mountains, some 350 kilometres (218 miles) southeast of Bishkek near the Chinese border, is the largest gold mine run by a Western company in the former Soviet Union. The stable work of KOC is vital for Kyrgzystan's entire economy. The venture accounted for 5.5 percent of gross domestic product and 18.9 percent of industrial output in 2012, official data show. Picture taken March 11. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KYRGYZSTAN)
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