EcoLur
We present the details of the public hearings on the project of constructing a tailing dump by Mego Gold Company held in Meliq Village on 27 November.
Brief Information: Mego Gold Company is developing Tukhmanuk gold mine. It has two tailing dumps in its assets, one with a capacity of 20,000 cubic meters, and the second – 30,000 cubic meters. Tails contain gold. According to the company, the first tailing dump contains 1.5 grams of gold per ton, while the second – 0.6-0.7 grams of gold per ton. The third tailing dump is designed for 90,000 cubic meters.
Developer Hovik Nikoghosyan has tightly connected the construction of a new tailing dump and employment at the plant. “If there is no tailing dump, there will be no mine operating, if there is no mine operating, there will be no plant operating… Everything depends on you, if you don’t want, you can reject, and the mining industry will be closed down in Meliq Village…”
The seismicity of the construction area is high and is assessed 9 points. Yerevan Aarhus Center Coordinator Silva Ayvazyan noted, “”The active fracture generated from Spitak quake is 10 kilometers. Have you estimates these risks?”
H. Nikoghosyan, “Our barriers are estimated for 9 points. If they are destructed, the emission of tails will make up the volume for one day.” “Mego Gold” Deputy Director Henrikh Mkrtchyan: “If the tails burst out, they won’t get to the village.” Mego Gold Director Ashot Poghosyan, “Two tailing dumps have passport, which underwent the expertise, including seismicity test.”
Villagers expressed their disagreement with the project. “…None of us agrees, maybe only 0.1%...Let them make a new project and incorporate our demands…60 families have already suffered, none of them harvested potatoes due what’s going on (processed tailing dump is meant)…You destroyed 500 meters of aqueduct, but didn’t lay a new one...How a tailing dump can be constructed, if landslips will activate and take away 60 houses…They have been operating for 2 years, the half of the mountain already doesn’t exist…If we should breathe in poison, let them resettle the village…”
O. Nikoghosyan to villagers, “It matters to you whether (the company) has been working correctly and incorrectly. If you see something to be incorrect, there are emissions, go and don’t allow it to be…”
The Lawyer of Aarhus Centers Arthur Grigoryan, “You operate in accordance with the standards of the World Bank, where one of the standards is social responsibility. But as soon as you arrive in the village, it’s clear to you that no WB standards are available…Then you mention that we will do this in 5 years and this in 10 years… As a result, nobody will deal with anything else, but mining industry…”
A. Poghosyan: “It’s not proper to think that the company should arrive and to maintain the village... we can help, do to this extent or that extent...there are 60 working places, which will turn into 100 working places. We will buy services and products to a certain extent...but before mine opening, the project has a part on tail processing...according to our information, it contains 10 million tons of gold-bearing ores and we intend to process 300,000-350,000 tons of ore per year. The gorge you saw is small for this project…in three years it will be impossible to work there and we’ll start opening up new territories...”.
“Shogher” Union representative Hasmik Aslanyan, “You have been working for 10 years, and we haven’t born any social responsibility so far…If tailing dumps surround the village in 60 years (the period mentioned by the company), the existence of the village itself will be undermined…”.
Village Head Hakob Mkrtchyan: “...I spoke with Ashot Poghosyan a month ago…and asked him to pay off overdue salaries. He promised to do so. Within 15 years Mego Gold hasn’t done anything for our village. One month ago they promised to solve the problem with village lightening, to construct a kindergarten, and to envisage 20% of expenses designed for supplying the village with gas. If they keep their promises, we won’t have any objections… You will learn about our decision after one month…”
November 30, 2012 at 11:25