* Construction firm says staff threatened, bulldozers stolen
* Company was rebuilding a road to serve gold mine
* Chaarat Gold says operations unaffected
* Unrest has dogged mining projects in Central Asian state
By Olga Dzyubenko
BISHKEK, Sept 11 (Reuters) – Kyrgyz villagers seized
bulldozers from a construction company repairing a road to a
mine operated by Chaarat Gold on Tuesday, the latest
sign of unrest overshadowing attempts by the Central Asian state
to attract foreign investment.
A new government in Kyrgyzstan, an impoverished former
Soviet republic, is seeking investors to mine gold, coal and
other minerals and bolster a fragile economy.
But attacks on several mining camps over the past 18 months
have dented investor confidence. Villagers have raised
environmental concerns and demanded a greater share of mining
proceeds, often with the support of nationalist politicians.
The people who raided the construction camp in the Jalalabad
region on Tuesday were angry about how long it was taking to
repair the road which also goes through their villages, two
mining industry sources told Reuters.
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