Within the framework of “Ecological Transformation of Mining Areas in Armenia” project, experts from the Czech Arnika organization, together with their Armenian partners-EcoLur Informational NGO and Center for Community Consolidation and Support NGO-are conducting assessment of environmental pollution in Armenia. As part of this project, the working group visited Qajaran community in Syunik Region.
Qajaran is an industrial city formed around Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine and currently serves as the center of Qajaran consolidated community. The community includes 21 settlements with a population of around 8,500 people.
The Qajaran copper-molybdenum deposit and the combine are operated by Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine CJSC. The Qajaran deposit is one of the largest copper-molybdenum deposits in the world, with estimated reserves of 5.9 million tons of copper and 0.85 million tons of molybdenum. Currently, about 22 million tons of ore are extracted annually.
At the suggestion of local residents, Arnika’s experts collected samples from sediments of the Voghji River flowing through Qajaran, from soil, from household garden plots in residential areas, from territories adjacent to the Artsvanik tailings facility, as well as biological samples from residents.
The samples will be analyzed in a certified laboratory in the Czech Republic, and the results will be presented to the local population.
Arnika has been working in Armenia since 2010 and has conducted studies in Lori, Aragatsotn, Kotayk, and Ararat Regions. Arnika’s co-founder and environmental expert Jindřich Petrlík notes that similar studies are also carried out by the organization in the Czech Republic and other countries, in cooperation with local civil society organizations.
“Responding to residents’ requests, we are studying the impact of industrial pollution on the environment and human health and providing concrete data that can serve as an evidence base for local communities to defend their rights,” said Grigory Malyukov, coordinator of Ecological Transformation of Mining Areas in Armenia project.
Oleg Dulgaryan, President of Center for Community Consolidation and Support NGO, emphasized: “Residents have the right to know what kind of environment they are living in. There must be not only socio-economic but also socio-environmental solutions that reduce the negative impacts of mining activities. Unfortunately, to this day, health assessments of people living in mining communities have not been conducted. Residents should have health insurance. Alternative development projects need to be developed with environmental, healthcare, and economic components. Our research can serve as a basis for developing preventive mechanisms and can also inform state bodies in designing impact assessment models.”
This article was prepared within the framework of Ecological Transformation of Mining Areas in Armenia project, implemented with the financial support of the Czech Republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs under the Transition Cooperation Programme.
January 12, 2026 at 15:19