Tensions flare over environmental threat of Canadian gold mine in Kyrgyzstan | Claire Provost and Ryskeldi Satke

In the Tian Shan mountains, an ambitious 'ice mining' project has led to protests among local communities, with claims from activists of threats and violence

The remote Issyk Kul province in eastern Kyrgyzstan, on the border with China, is home to some of the most stunning vistas of the rugged Tian Shan mountain range that cuts through much of Central Asia. Mountain goats and endangered snow leopards roam the rocky slopes, while rare species of dandelion and wild tulip bloom in alpine meadows.

But far from being a serene backdrop to peaceful village life, the Tian Shan (Mandarin for "celestial mountains") in this part of Kyrgyzstan are at the centre of one of the region's most ambitious and controversial mining projects and a long-running and increasingly tense conflict with communities nearby.