12,000 TONS OF ORE MONTHLY EXTRACTED FROM DRMBON COPPER-GOLD MINE IN KARABAKH

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 21. ARMINFO. 12,000 tons of ore are extracted each
month from the copper-gold mine in the village of Drmbon, Martakert
district, Nagorno Karabakh Republic, says executive director of Base
Metals Ltd Artur Mkrtumyan.

Monthly concentrate output is 1,200 tons. The concentrate is sent to
Armenia. They process it into gold containing copper and export it to
Europe. Almost $7 mln has already been invested in the mine
development – mostly in the construction of facilities and purchase of
equipment. The company employs 750 people paying them 110,000-120,000
AMD a month. Karabakh’s tax sphere is very favourable, there is no
red-tape at all. Base Metals timely fulfills all of its tax
liabilities, pays social fees and the rent. It gives several mln AMD
to the state budget each year this substantially contributing to the
general economic development of NKR.

The company’s technologies are ecologically safe and economical. The
greater part of the staff are local specialists, trained at Artsakh
State University.

The mine resources will suffice for 20 years of active operation.
Simultaneously, the company is prospecting areas with potential
precious metal resources. In future Drmbon will be made an industrial
resort with a recreation zone on the banks of Sarsang, hotels, taverns
and an artificial lake.

Base Metals was set up in Aug 2002 for prospecting and developing the
Drmbon mine. The ore mining and processing group was built in Sept
2003. The first ore was extracted in Apr 2003, the first concentrate
in Oct of the same year.