Armine Avagyan, ArmeniaNow Kapan reporter
Geological survey on uranium mines in Syunik is to start amid serious concerns among the population.
On April 22 of this year the RA Ministry of Environmental Protection and Russia’s Atomredmetgoloto open trade stock company signed an agreement on founding a joint entity that would carry out a geological study of Armenia’s uranium mines and start exploiting. Minister Aram Harutyunyan informed that the geological survey in Syunik is planned to start in September.
Harutyunyan also said that the mines would not harm the Shikahogh preserve (there were talks about holding a geological survey in that territory too). According to him, uranium is not dangerous in the study stage; it can be dangerous after being enriched.
The villages where the survey will be held (Pukhrut, Lernadzor, Katnarat) belong to Lernadzor community. The Head of the community Stepan Petrosyan says that it is natural to realize the danger for those who have only basic knowledge about uranium. But, he says, nothing official has been declared yet, and he himself learned about the forthcoming survey on uranium in this area from mass media.
In 1968 there was a strong earthquake here, and for years residents of Lernadzor have lived in wooden houses. Only recently the government started giving compensations and now a large-scale housing project is in process. The village head says, though, that after having heard about the possible uranium mining people are wondering whether to build houses here or not.
“4 out 7 people who received compensation in 2007 are now building houses. People think: what if tomorrow they evict us from here, others say ‘building a house here today would mean causing a disease to my children tomorrow’,” Petrosyan says.
Meanwhile Sergey Kirienko, head of Russian Federation’s Atomic Energy Agency , declared that depending on the amount of uranium reserves Russia could invest up to a few hundred million dollars in the uranium initiative.
Sergey Grigoryan, an academician at the RA National Academy of Sciences, who would most probably be leading the geological prospecting, informed that Armenian and Russian experts would be taking part.
“Only a small area would carry danger: the tunnel entrances. The rest will be underground, so the population’s fear of radioactivity is groundless,” Grigoryan says.
Grigoryan is creator of two inventions, connected with the search of hidden uranium mines, which are used throughout the world.
“The world community is already largely experienced in exploiting uranium mines safely. There are effective means to lessen the radiation to a safe level. Radiation is dangerous only when uranium is enriched, but not in the mining stage,” says the academician.
Enrichment won’t take place in Armenia: Armenia has expressed its readiness to enrich the extracted uranium at a nuclear center in Angarsk founded by Kazakhstan and Russia.
According to the geological surveys held in the Soviet years there is a reserve of approximately 30,000 tons of uranium in Armenia. That is considered to be a mine of medium size. It is possible that the amount has doubled.
Grigoryan says that the data of the previous studies about uranium reserves were mere predictions. “There is no exact calculation, we don’t have mines discovered that can be exploited today. If we discover uranium mines, then we can count our reserves and, after that, start mining.”
By the method developed by Grigoryan geochemical sampling will be done on the surface, which is ecologically safe.
“There won’t be any drilling during the investigation stage, no harm will be caused. By no means the preserve can be harmed. As a result of the sampling we can even learn whether there are reserves of uranium in the preserve area; it might be useful to know that there is radioactivity there. But, of course, no mining will be done on the territory of the preserve,” he says.
According to Grigoryan, the survey will take no less than 2 years.
The Director of Shikahogh preserve angrily says that during the hard years of war they defended that land, the gorge, and their motherland from “Turks”. “We won’t let them enter our gorge and extract uranium.”
All he has heard so far are unofficial talks too: “People approached with preliminary recommendations, I showed the preserve to them.” He reminds that any human interference in the territory of the preserve is forbidden, and vows he won’t allow anybody to carry out even a trial survey.
The tariffs for uranium are rising in the world market, as, according to economic calculations, the world offer of uranium meets only 55 percent of its demand. One kilo of uranium now costs about $ 150. According to Soviet-era research, the area could hold some 30,000 tons of uranium, but experts say new surveys are needed.
May 30, 2008