Images of the Moscow-backed gold refining plant at the Jerooy mine in the Talas Region, some 280 kilometres west of the capital Bishkek. The Kyrgyzstan’s second-largest goldmine is being developed for exploration of gold deposits by Russia’s Alliance Altyn company, which has pledged to invest $600 million into the project. Gold is central to the threadbare economy of the majority Muslim country of 6.5 million people, which sends hundreds of thousands of its citizens to work in Russia each year.  STOCKSHOTS