Qaraberd gold mine is located in the north of Armenia in Lori Region, 3 km northeast of Vanadzor Town, on the southern slope of the Bazum mountain range. The nearest settlements are Qaraberd, Pambak and Gugark, which are 1.4, 2.4 and 2.2 km from the mine, respectively.
"ASSAT" LLC has been operating Qaraberd gold mine intermittently since 2012. The company received the mineral extraction permit on 06.06.2013 for a period of 11 years.
The main minerals of the mine are gold and silver. The amount of extinguishable reserves makes up 272555.9 tons, out of which gold makes up 1443.48 kg, whereas silver - 2583.5 kg.
The company did not implement enough socio-economic projects for Qaraberd. Residents continue to live in difficult socio-economic conditions. The "building" of the municipality is an iron caravan, there are no means of communication in the village, there is no school, kindergarten and medical center. Meanwhile, "ASSAT" promised in its soil management contract to allocate 200,000 AMD per year for the needs of Qaraberd village and school, participation in the socio-economic program of community development, repair of rural inter-community roads, and 400,000 AMD to provide assistance to disadvantaged families.According to Yurik Shavelyan, Administrative Head of Qaraberd, the company did not help with money, but instead provided equipment and repaired roads with its own funds.
The company intended to carry out geological prospecting in 2022-2025 in the eastern and southern wings of the central site of Qaraberd gold mine, to extend the period of the mining project of the central site and to build an ore-processing factory. The first public hearing organized by the company regarding this initiative was failed by local residents and activists on November 4, 2022.
RA Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources informed EcoLur that no relevant application was received regarding the change of the project in order to expand mining and build an ore-processing plant in Qaraberd gold mine. For the purpose of socio-economic development of the communities affected by the mining industry, RA Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources has come up with a relevant legislative initiative. It was published on the official website e-draft.am in order to ensure the public discussion of the project as prescribed by the law.
The reply letter of Deputy Environment Minister says, “On July 26, 2012, a positive environmental impact assessment opinion (BP-64) was issued regarding the working project of the operation of the central site of Qaraberd gold mine filed by "ASSAT" LLC. The preliminary environmental impact assessment application for the mentioned planned activity was not submitted to the Ministry of Environment for environmental impact assessment and expert assessment.”
Qaraberd village, which is part of Pambak consolidated community, has 60 inhabitants. The local population is against the expansion of the mine for a number of reasons. Residents have been warning for years that as a result of the mine's intermittent operation, significant damages have been caused to the settlement and their health. In particular, as a result of the explosions taking place in the mine, the pastures and gardens of the village were covered with dust, some types of trees dried up.
According to “Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center” SNCO, in the second quarter of 2022, vanadium concentration in the studied soils in Lori Region exceeds the relevant MCP by 1.3-7.1 times, copper - 16.4-1760.3 times, zinc - 2.6-55.9 times, chromium - 1.7- 16.2 times, nickel - 2.9-19.3 times, lead - 1.1-27.6 times and arsenic - 2.5-37.9 times.
It should be noted that the main occupation of Qaraberd residents is agriculture, the agricultural lands amount to 1607.53 hectares, where potatoes, cabbage and other vegetable crops are grown.
According to "ASSAT" LLC's limit emission permit project, the source of dust is the work carried out in the mine, drilling and blasting. During blasting operations, the duration of dust and gas emissions is on average 10 minutes, so they are considered volleys and are not taken into account when calculating the level of atmospheric pollution. Meanwhile, the annual damage caused by the main pollutants will be 27.1 t of inorganic dust, 1.08 t of carbon dioxide, 1.34 t of nitrogen dioxide, 0.11 t of soot and 0.1 t of sulfur anhydride.
The heavy metals from the mine area flowed into the river with precipitation and deposited in the river bed. "Environmental Impact Monitoring Center" SCNO does not carry out studies of bottom sediments of rivers.
The company intends to take water for technical purposes from the Pambak river flowing near the mine. Additional water withdrawals by the company will have a negative impact on the river's ecosystem.
How polluted the areas adjacent to Qaraberd gold mine and the Pambak River are will become clear as a result of the chemical contamination research conducted jointly with "Center for Community Mobilization and Support Center" and Czech "Arnika" NGO and "EcoLur" Informational NGOs. In September 2022, Czech specialists took test samples from mine fillings, bottom sediments of the Pambak River, adjacent lands, residents' gardens, residents' hair and urine in Qaraberd. Test samples are examined in the Czech Republic.
December 09, 2022 at 10:41