EXPLOITATION OF THE TEGHUT DEPOSIT WILL INCREASE OF ARMENIA’S COMPETITIVENESS ON THE WORLD MARKET, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ACP STATED

Mediamax News Agency, Armenia
May 23 2007

Yerevan, May 23 /Mediamax/. Executive Director of the ACP Company
(Armenian Copper Programme) Gagik Arzumanian stated that the
exploitation of the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit will make a
serious contribution to the increase of economic might of the country
and its competitiveness on the world market.

Mediamax reports that Gagik Arzumanina said this in an interview to
"Golos Armenii" [Voice of Armenia] newspaper, commenting on the
statements on expediency of realizing the project.

In 2001, the ACP Company won a tender for exploitation of the Teghut
deposit, receiving a license for the term of 25 years. At the first
stage, the quantity of copper will make 30 thousand tons a year in
the concentrates produced (at present, 20 thousand tons are produced
in the republic), and molybdenum – about 800 tons a year (at present,
about 4 thousand tons are produced in Armenia).

The calculations brought in the program show that given investments
of up to $200mln at the first stage of implementation of the project,
the annual volumes of the company’s export will increase for $90mln.

During the construction works, about 1700 new workplaces will be
provided and at the first stage of exploitation of the mine the number
of workplaces will make 1430 (without taking into account the auxiliary
organizations). Thus, taking into account the number of population
able to work in the local communities (Shnokh and Tekhut villages),
which makes 1200 people, one can argue that the realization of the
program will secure full employment of the local population, Gagik
Arzumanian stated.

According to Arzumanian, in the project documents the company has
provided for a number of nature-conservative measures, directed to
soften the negative influence on the environment.

What concerns the deforestation, the realization of the given program
provides for deforestation of a territory of 357 hectares at the
volume of about 58 thousand cubic meters, and at the first stage
(in the course of 12 years) the territory, subject to deforestation,
will make 157 hectares with the volume of 25 thousand cubic meters.

"Aiming at softening the consequences, we came forward with an
initiative to hold equivalent reforestation works", Gagik Arzumanian
stressed. At that, he noted that according to the data of ecological
organizations, illegal deforestation in Armenia makes 1mln cubic
meters of wood per year – about 8 thousand hectares of forest.

"If we believe these assessments, in the course of the first stage of
program realization (12 years), the deforested territory will equal
the territory which is being deforested illegally only in a week",
Gagik Arzumanian stressed.