Artsavnik tailing dump

Whether Kapan to recognized disaster zone? 21 January 2020. Ecolur: https://www.ecolur.org/en/news/mining/12012/

The quoted article is over 4 years old. It is quite a stretch to rebut something that is 4 years old in and of itself, and it is harder when the article does not indicate what exactly is the accusation we need to respond to. Moreover, ZCMC has changed ownership and management since then and it is nothing short of strange that your platform hasn’t brought this article up back in 2000 and is asking instead to respond to something that presumably occurred under a different ownership and management.

However, we would like to state some of the tailings management measures that have been installed since then and are underway now.

The safety of our communities is of outmost importance. The company has committed last year to implement a project to ensure compliance with the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management within a feasible time frame. This is a firm commitment of the new shareholders and the management. ZCMC is a mine with 70 years of history and some legacy issues will be taking time to address. The commitment of the company to change is what is important.

We have already commenced the installation of a new geoseismic system, that enables us to monitor the stability status of the tailing dam and detect any deviations within tolerances for tectonic or vibrational movements. The system is expected to be operational within the next 6 months.

The company is also considering introduction of a water circulation system and other alternative solutions for water management at the Artsvanik tailings storage facility.

Progressive rehabilitation of the dam is also part of the robust plan. In the Artsvanik tailings dam alone, twenty hectares were cultivated in 2023 and more than 10,700 trees were used.

• Zangezur Copper molybdenum Combine

Каджаран в облаке токсичной пыли։ условия труда крупнейшего налогоплательщика (Эксклюзивные кадры), 1 июня 2022. FIP: https://fip.am/ru/19399

Firstly, we would like to insist that most statements in this article are visible exaggerations as these kinds of statements often are. The town has never been “covered with dust” let alone “toxic dust”. This is a defamatory statement that would have been ridiculous if it wasn’t sadly misleading all those people who have never been to our surrounding communities. It is worth noting that 80% of our workforce is from local communities, including a large segment of the management team. Dust management is a matter of healthy livelihood for the company, represented by its people. While we insist that the communities were never “covered with dust”, a better dust management system was being developed as part of environmental management reforms. Last year the company installed 4 fog cannons around the open pit for dust control measures and more are scheduled to be installed this year. So, the dust management is up to date and visibly effective on site. Ongoing repairments and improvement of onsite workshops is underway as part of the general plan of modernization adopted by the company’s shareholders and management.