KAPAN DEPOSITS OF "DINO GOLD MINING" STILL POLLUTE ENVIRONMENT OF REGION
ArmInfo News Agency, Armenia
Oct 23 2006
"Dino Gold Mining" company engaged in exploitation of Kapan
copper-and-sulfur deposit and Shahumyan gold-and-polymetallic
deposit in Armenia plans to raise the capacities of ore processing
to 1 million tons annually instead of the present 300,000 tons, Vahe
Vartanyan, Head of "Dino Gold Mining" Nature Protection Department,
told journalists, the participants of a media-tour organized by
"Ecolur" public organization.
He said to raise the capacities causing minimal pollution to the
environment, the company has started construction and restoration of
Geghanush tailing dump. The works are to be completed by the beginning
of 2007. Under the tailing dump exploitation project prepared by
the National Research Institute of Mining Metallurgy, the wastes
of flotation plants of the company will be subjected to mechanical
cleaning. Only after this, the purified water will be poured into the
River of Geghanush. Earlier, the company leadership was repeatedly
brought to administrative responsibility for illegal throw of chemical
wastes into the nearby small rivers. Thus, the company had to pay a
10 million AMD fine to the state budget and another 1 million AMD to
the budget of the village of Syunik for environment pollution. "Dino
Gold Mining" was allowed to use Arvanik tailing dump in the territory
of Syunik. However, the company failed to fulfill its financial
commitments to the "owner" of the tailing dump, Zangezour cooper-and-
molybdenum plant. Thus, it was no longer allowed to use the tailing
dump. Afterwards, an ecological examination in the Syunik region showed
that chemical wastes were thrown by the plants of "Dino Gold Mining."
In addition, the company recompensed the privates cultivating the lands
around the drained tailing dump Geghanush, as in case of reactivation,
the tailing dump will rise by 50 meters leaving the agricultural lands
under poisonous slush. Despite the fact that the company recompensed
the farmers for the damage and pledged to carry out re-cultivation
works in future, Grigor Safaryan, Head of the rural community
of Gomaran and Geghanush, told journalists that the villagers were
against the reactivation of the tailing dump. "We do not need these
300-400,000 drams if we are deprived of our pastures and agricultural
lands," Safaryan said. He added that the villagers still feel the
negative impact of the Soviet mining metallurgy on their health.
To recap, a Canadian company Dundee Precious Metals acquired the 80
pct stake of "Dino Gold Mining" for $22 million early in 2006. The
investment program of the new shareholder provides for observation
of ecological norms and rules out development of open-pits by banned
methods, V. Vardanyan said.
The media-tour was organized with support of the WWF and the Critical
Ecosystem Partnership Fund (CEPF).