Pressure Exercised on Villagers Protesting Against Litchq Copper Mine Development

EcoLur

As syunikonline.am informs, the public hearings on Litchq copper mining project submitted by “Tatstone” LLC were held under the control of Robert Melqonyan, Ex Deputy Yerevan Police Head, currently Head of Company Security Service.

The press release disseminated by syunikonline.am says, “According to the notification posted on the website of Nature Protection Ministry, on 14 August 2015, at 13:00, the public hearings on the environmental impact assessment of Litchq copper mine, Syunik Region, submitted by "Tatstone" LLC were held in Litchq Rural Municipality.

Robert Melqonyan, Ex Deputy Yerevan Police Head, currently Head of “Tatstone” Company Security Service, regularly approached the villagers protesting against the mining and abruptly warned them.

'Environmental Expertise' SNCO Expert Zaruhi Zurnachyan said at the beginning of the public hearings it’s the second public hearings on Litchq mining project,  while according to the current legislation the second public hearings shall be devoted not to the project, but the draft decision of the expertise made on the submitted project. This provision is clearly laid down in Article 16 (5) of RA Law “On Environmental Impact Assessment and Expertise”, while its implementation procedure is laid down in the governmental resolution “On Public Noticing and Holding Discussions”. It was already sufficient legal ground to annul the discussions, as the subject of the discussions was missing.

 The mine is located in immediate proximity to “Arevik” National Park (the project says in a distance of 780 meters) and it plans to conduct drilling and explosion works in opencast manner. Nevertheless, none of “Arevik” National Park representatives took part in the public hearings.

In terms of the content, the discussions made it clear that the Litchq mining project doesn’t comply with any criteria of scientific substantiation and contradicts to numerous provisions of the environmental legislations. For example, the project contains such absurd provisions, according to which the report on storing fertile soil layer should be submitted to Kotayk Regional Municipality, while the plant should also be reclaimed after mining ends. After surfing in the Internet for a bit it became clear that whole chapters of the project are literally rewritten from another mining project submitted by “Mego Gold” Company.

August 21, 2015 at 16:12