ArmInfo. The issue of appointing a new operator for the operation of the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit is currently being discussed, Acting Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Garegin Baghramyan stated on November 21 answering the question of ArmInfo.
According to Baghramyan, the Teghut Mining Project was mortgaged with a loan from VTB Bank. "Today Teghut's assets have become the property of VTB and the process is under way to appoint a new field operator from the bank's side," the acting Minister of Energy said. At the same time, as Baghramyan noted, he is not yet aware of the candidates who have expressed interest in the project.
A week earlier, in the Parliament of Armenia Acting Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Avinyan said that the issue of restarting Teghut deposit and attracting a new operator is being discussed.
The program of the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit operation was approved by the Armenian government in November 2007. In terms of reserves, the Tekhut deposit is the second in the republic after the Kajaran copper and molybdenum deposits in Syunik. Back in 1972, large-scale geological exploration was carried out, which resulted in confirmed reserves of 450 million tons of ore with a content of 1.6 million tons of copper and 99 thousand tons of molybdenum. The suspension of the largest Teghut project due to environmental problems at the end of last year had a negative impact on the country's economy. The operation of the field can be continued only after solution of a number of technical and environmental problems, because of which the company in fact lost loan support.
Meanwhile, due to a serious violation of environmental legislation, since October 19, 2018, the work of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter, which produces blister copper using technologies from the middle of the last century, was suspended. The problem becomes more complex by the fact that the property complex of the enterprise is secured by a loan of $ 500 million, previously obtained from VTB Bank for the development of the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit. Under these conditions, servicing a VTB loan becomes extremely unaffordable for an enterprise and a serious decline in the level of profitability of the Alaverdi plant, in fact, may lead to its bankruptcy. To note, Vallex Group CJSC was established in 1998 and unites 20 subsidiary and affiliated companies. Among them, Teghut CJSC, founded in May 2006, 100% of the shares of CJSC belong to Teghut Investments Limited Cyprus based company, 100% of which voting shares in turn belong to Armenian Copper Program CJSC, which is fully owned by Valery Mejlumyan, and also CJSC "Base Metals", operating the copper-gold deposit in the village of Drmbon, Martakert region, NKR, Armenian Copper Program CJSC (ACP), operating the Alaverdi Copper Smelter.