On August 12, 2025, by Decision No. 84-A, the Kapan City Council of Syunik region voted (22 in favor) to grant preliminary consent to the projects of “Kapan Mining and Processing Enterprise” CJSC, which include increasing the design capacity of the beneficiation plant up to 1 million tons per year, reconstruction of Geghanush tailing dump facility, and renovation of the tunnel diverting the Geghanush River.
On the same day, by Decisions No. 99-A and No. 98-A, the Council also consented to transfer state-owned land plots in Geghanush village — 5.066 hectares and 0.72 hectares — to the Company until April 1, 2050, without tender, under construction rights for servicing the tailings dam. The annual lease fee was set at 1,033,690 AMD per hectare.
The design capacity of the beneficiation plant is 1 million tons of ore per year, but currently it operates at a limited capacity of 600,000 tons. The company proposes to allow the plant to operate at its full design capacity, which will enable processing the entire volume of ore extracted from Shahumyan gold-polymetallic deposit, as well as mining and processing ore from Lichqvaz-Tey gold deposit at design volumes. Notably, Lichqvaz-Tey gold deposit’s annual production capacity is planned to be 100,000–300,000 tons according to the schedule.
The Geghanush tailing dump will be reconstructed from the upstream model to the centerline model, increasing its capacity to 17.4 million cubic meters.
During public hearings in July, Kapan Mayor Gevorg Parsyan voiced community demands, including tailing dump assessment by an international firm, and an annual support of 300 million AMD.
Ani Sargsyan, President of "Impulse of Youth of Kapan" NGO stressed the need for local NGOs to participate in shaping the social programs. According to her, support should mostly target the affected villages of Geghanush and Gomaran, where needs assessments are ongoing. Svetlana Grigoryan, an environmental activist, highlighted that villagers close to the border and the tailings facility cannot develop agriculture or livestock farming due to health risks, reduced yields, and poor roads.
Arine Avanesyan, a local geography teacher, emphasized that existing ecological issues must be solved before further expansion. Local youth noted that Kapan could also develop as a tourism hub, rather than solely through mining.
August 20, 2025 at 14:40