“Armwatercanal” Director General Concerned with Hrazdan Mine Development Project

EcoLur

Opencast development of Hrazdan iron mine will bring to the de-energization of four towns such as Hrazdan, Abovyan, Charentsavan and Tsaghkadzor. Hrazdan Section Head of North-West Division of “Armwatercanal” A. Sargsyan expressed his concerns about this. Reminder: Chinese Fortune Oil Company obtained the shares of Nagin Company, which in 2009 submitted the project of opencast development of Hrazdan iron mine development and caused negative public response not only in Hrazdan, but also in the whole environmental community. Independent experts expressed the opinion that opencast development of Hrazdan and Abovyan mine may lead to the fact that Hrazdan and Yerevan will get deprived of its drinking water with different water losses mentioned from 40% to 60%. Ecolur has applied for clarifications to the organization which controls the management for drinking water in Hrazdan section, i.e. Armwatercanal.

Hrazdan Section Head commented this situation in the following way: Hrazdan Town gets 100 of its drinking water supply from Makravan-2. This spring supplies water with rate of 1500 l/sec to another three towns – Abovyan, Charentsavan and Tsaghkadzor. It also fills the water reservoir located at the foot of “iron” mountain. In accordance with the studies of Soviet specialists, 60% water of Makravan-2 comes from Sevan basin, and another 40% generates from snow, precipitation etc. The waters of Sevan basin pass beneath Hrazdan rion mines, approximately at 1500 m above sea level. The mine itself lies above. However, if the explosions for iron mining will touch the level of underground waters, waters will break and will come out directly to the mine, while Makravan-2 will run dry. “I don’t know how much they intend to go down for ore extraction. According to my information, this will be under eater level. If this actually takes place, we will start losing water,” Sargsyan said. What about Yerevan, it is not supplied from Makravan-2, the capital gets its water from another spring, and under Sargsyan’s information, it also gets water supplies from Sevan basin. “In any case serious studies are needed,’ A. Sargsyan said.

Hrazdan Aarhus Center Coordinator Anahit Mnatsakanyan told EcoLur, they sent a letter which lays down the risks on Hrazdan mine project to “Armwatercanal” CJSC Director General Patrick Loren. “To tell the truth, they didn’t answer us, But from some sources we know he is concerned with this problem and wrote a letter to the President,” Anahit Mnatsakanyan said.

July 19, 2011 at 11:44