EcoLur
Out of 26 metallic mines in Armenia, which have licenses for mining, only ten give production (data for 2014). The largest is Qajaran mine, which ensured 60% of mining in Armenia and 80% of budget income from mining. Teghout, Agarak, Sotq, and Kapan mines significantly fall behind. What about the others, their contribution is practically insignificant.
Economist Vahagn Khachatryan thinks there is no sense to speak about the stability of economy development on this background, where the priority of mining field is not substantiated economically. “It’s the only field where the amount of paid taxes is more by 70% that the share of mining in economy,” Vahagn Khachatryan noted.
Let’s focus on the indicator in mining. According to the National Statistic Service of Armenia, growth of 5.2% in the mining industry in Armenia was recorded in 2015. At the same time, the mining of metal ore increased by 51.5%. “In the past we could speak about high rates of the GDP. Now the opportunities of the economic growth are not used, while damage to environment is escalated,” outlined Vahagn Khachatryan in his interview with EcoLur and made a reference to the report of Nature Protection Ministry for 2007-2011, which says that the assessment of the damage caused by economic development makes up 6-10%.
February 15, 2016 at 15:52