ArmInfo.A number of Armenian public organizations addressed an open letter to the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan with an appeal to halt the development of the Amulsar deposit.
In the opinion of the authors of the letter, the development of the deposit may become a new ecological catastrophe for Armenia. "We are aware that until now the state policy in the mining industry has been based on such development scenarios that many countries of the world have refused, since in the short term it is a very risky enterprise, economically unreasonable and financially unstable," the letter says. It also indicates the danger of such factors as violation of human security, generally accepted norms and infringement of the rights of future generations. The situation, which can be described as the "Curse of Resources", is presented as a policy of attracting investments. Meanwhile, investments in a broader sense also include spending on fulfilling commitments, such as equitable distribution of social wealth among the local population, assessing the interests of workers and villagers, and, most importantly, addressing the problem of nature conservation. The letter was signed by representatives of several public organizations - the Environmental Front of Armenia, NGO "Forests of Armenia", Transparency International and "Environmental Law", EcoLur, Public Ecological Union, etc.
To note, the sphere of mining industry occupies a special place in the economy of Armenia. At least half of Armenia's exported deposits fall to the share of ore concentrates and metals, which occupy the most important place in the list of products imported from the country. At the state balance of mineral resources, more than 670 deposits of solid minerals with confirmed reserves, including 30 metal deposits, are currently registered. About 400 of these deposits are exploited, including 22 metal ones. There are 7 copper-molybdenum deposits, 4 copper, 14 gold and gold-polymetallic deposits, 2 iron ore and 1 aluminum ore on metallic minerals.
On May 25, RA Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Arthur Grigoryan told journalists that work will soon begin on the implementation of the decree of the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, on verification at the exploited mines and deposits in Armenia. According to him, the department has already received the order of the Prime Minister, work on its implementation has begun. "All research data will be published in a short time," the minister stressed. Earlier, RA Prime Minister instructed the authorities to start inspections at the exploited mines and mineral deposits in Armenia. He noted that recently there have been a lot of signals about the compliance of these mines with the legislation and environmental standards of the country.
"We will be consistent in this matter, recently, both in the whole world and in Armenia environmental problems are being actively discussed, in this issue, as well as in a number of others, a balanced approach is needed," noted Nikol Pashinyan, Such an approach will not manage to bring the matter to negative consequences, including those related to investments.