EcoLur
“EcoLur” informational NGO has sent a letter to the Ministry of Nature Protection. The letter says, “Zangezour copper and molybdenum combine plans to increase the volumes of ore processing up to 25 million tons per year and replenishes with new equipment. “When the new mill will start working, nothing will remain from these mountains,” the locals said. Extensive increase in the indicators is a characteristic phenomenon for ZCMC. In the course of 2011 the combine processed 15 million tons of ore, this figure for 2012 was 17 million tons. The operating Artsvanik tailing dump is planned to increase for the tails to be dumped. The tails will flood the territories of Chapni and Sevaqar Villages finding themselves under the formulation of “eminent public domain.”
First of all, it’s Nature Protection Ministry, which should pay attention to this fact. The increase of production by 2 million tons for one year is equal to the fact that another mining enterprise has appeared. For comparison we would like to say that Kapan ore processing combine processes 600,000 tons per year. Agarak copper and molybdenum combine processes 3.5 million tons per year. We tried to, but didn’t find any information on the website of Nature Protection Ministry which would prove that any public hearings were held in Qajaran on the production expansion in 2011 and 2012.
The locals complain that the dust is blown off to the city after explosions at Qajaran mine. This dust should contain heavy and toxic elements, but the website of the ministry misses any data about the pollution of the atmospheric air in Qajaran town.
Taking into consideration the unprecedented increase in ore mining in Qajaran mine and the planned volume of 25 million tons we consider it necessary for the Nature Protection Ministry to publish the following data:
1. The pollution of atmospheric air in Qajaran town,
2. The volume of ZCMC dumps and the size of the territories used for tail dumping,
3. Environmental and nature management payments made by the combine in 2012.
We also consider it necessary to set maximum load on environment from the ZCMC operation, after which “forced resettlement” term can be used.”
June 26, 2013 at 12:39