News agency Khaama Press reports that President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani cancelled the contracts held by the JVs formed by US-based CENTAR Limited.

Kumtor is expected to produce 18.2 tonnes of gold this year.

With the rise in the price of gold over the past year, precious metals exploration has picked up steam worldwide.

Newmont has increased its stake in QPM to 19.9%.

Yamana doubled its dividend this year to 4 cents per share in its third quarter.