ArmInfo. By decision of the Deputy Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Avinyan, on July 12, a working group was set up to provide state support to the preparatory work for the construction of a new copper smelter by the Armenian Copper Program CJSC (part of the VallexGroup structure), EcoLur reports.
The composition of the working group has already been approved, headed by the head of Avinyan's office Varag Siseryan. It included representatives of four ministries - Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Investments Avag Avanesyan, Deputy Minister of Environment Gnel Sanosyan, Deputy Finance Minister Arman Poghosyan and Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources Vardan Gevorgyan. ArmInfo's attempts to verify the reliability of the information were unsuccessful. It should be noted that ZAO "Vallex Group" was established in 1998 and unites 20 subsidiaries and affiliated companies. Among them, Teghout CJSC, founded in May 2006, owns 100% of the shares of CJSC TehoutEnvestments Limited, of which 100% of voting shares are owned by Armenian Copper Program CJSC, owned entirely by Valery Mejlumyan, the president of the group, and CJSC "Base Metals", which operates a copper-gold deposit in the village of Drmbon in the Martakert region of the NKR, CJSC Armenian Copper Program (ACP), which operates the Alaverdi copper smelter, which produces blister copper. The program on exploitation of the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit was approved by the Armenian government in November 2007. By reserves, the Teghut deposit is the second in the republic after the Kajaran copper and molybdenum deposit in Syunik. Back in 1972, large-scale geological exploration work was carried out here, which confirmed the reserves of 450 million tons of ore containing 1.6 million tons of copper and 99,000 tons of molybdenum. At the same time, the largest Teghout project due to environmental problems at the end of last year was suspended. The exploitation of the field can be continued only after solving a number of technical and environmental problems, because of which the company, in fact, lost credit support.
Back in March 2018, ArmInfo informed that Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Armenia Tian Erlong and former Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Armenia Ashot Manukyan paid special attention to the project of building a copper smelter in Armenia. Nevertheless, discussions on this topic have been ongoing for a couple of years. Chinese investors proposed a joint project in which Vallex Group participates from the Armenian side, from the Chinese side it is about the participation of MCC Overseas in the project, and possibly China National Building Materials Group Corporation, Sinoma International Engineering. With the Chinese partners, the Armenian government is also negotiating in the direction of setting up enterprises for the production of cement, glass and pearlite materials. The Armenian government established an interdepartmental group last year to discuss issues of assistance in the construction of the Armenian Copper Programs.
Meanwhile, plans for the construction of a copper smelting plant in Syunik region first appeared in Armenia in 2005-2006. An office was set up, which began to work out concrete calculations. Then the total cost of the project was estimated at $ 200-250 million. The processing capacity of the plant was to be 60,000 tons per year. According to experts, the new plant would allow processing all the copper concentrate produced in Armenia. The implementation of this project could revive the machine-building and machine-tool industries of the economy. According to the project, the plant was a unique project, using the technologies of copper concentrate processing hydrometallurgical method, which eliminates emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere. With the onset of the global financial crisis, the project was suspended. At the same time, as the Russian press reported, the main place of remelting of copper concentrate from Armenia in the 2000s was Bulgaria (where the smelter of the German metallurgical concern is located). China's share about 5 years ago was relatively small (within 20%), but in subsequent years it began to grow. In 2015, deliveries to Switzerland and Spain ceased and slightly increased to Serbia (where the Bor Mining and Metallurgical Complex, one of the largest in the region, opened in the spring). Let's notice, that China actively buys copper concentrate from all world.
