MOSCOW, February 4 - RAPSI. The Navoi Region Commercial Court in Uzbekistan has declared the Anglo-Uzbek gold mining company Amantaytau Goldfields bankrupt, a source with close ties to the company told RIA Novosti.

"As stipulated by the bankruptcy procedure, the court has given the company three months for liquidation. If necessary, this deadline may be extended by a court decision," the source said. The liquidation procedure includes a provision on selling the indebted company as a property portfolio.

In September 2012, the court registered a bankruptcy claim brought by the Amantaytau Goldfields' creditors and introduced an oversight procedure in the company, which was extended several times.

The government of Uzbekistan decided to close the joint venture in January 2011 due to the ineffective implementation of the program to develop the company and to increase the amount of gold mined. The UK co-owner, Oxus Gold plc, announced its intention to sue the Uzbek government in an international commercial court for its plans to close down the company. Oxus representatives are currently not available for comment.

In late 2003, the Amantaytau Goldfields joint venture launched a $31 million gold concentration plant at the Amantaytau field. The plant can process 1 million metric tons of oxide ore per year into 6,300 kilograms of gold. At the time of bankruptcy, its shareholders were Oxus Gold (50%), the State Committee of Uzbekistan for Geology and Mineral Resources (40%) and the Navoi Mining and Metals Plant (10%).