TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian miner Centerra Gold, which operates the Kumtor mine in Kyrgyzstan, on Wednesday announced that it had extended its existing $150-million revolving credit facility with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) until February 17, 2015.

Centerra president and CEO Ian Atkinson said that despite Centerra having a strong balance sheet and generating significant operating cash flow, it felt it was important to have the added financial flexibility that a corporate revolving credit facility would provide.

"We are pleased to continue working with Centerra and support its investments in EBRD countries of operations, including the Kyrgyz Republic. For close to 20 years EBRD has invested and supported the sustainable and transparent development of the mining sector in the Kyrgyz Republic by supporting EITI [Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative] implementation and promoting private sector participation in the sector.

“EBRD recognises Centerra's commitment to high environmental and safety standards, as well as to sustainable development in the local communities near the mine. We support the efforts that Centerra and the government are making to cooperatively restructure the Kumtor project in a manner that is fair to all shareholders, which will give a positive signal to investors and encourage further investments in the Kyrgyz Republic,” EBRD MD of energy Riccardo Puliti said in a statement.

Kyrgyzstan last week sued Centerra for 15-billion soms ($304-million) over what the government said was ecological damage, marking a new twist in a bitter row with the investor running the largest Kyrgyz gold mine.

The Toronto-listed miner was already under pressure from the Kyrgyz Parliament, which demanded the State hold 67% in a proposed joint venture to run the mine. In September, the government and Centerra had signed a memorandum of understanding, paving the way for Kyrgzstan to swap its 32.7% stake in the Canadian firm for 50% in a venture that would own the Kumtor mine.