Tuesday, October 30 2018 15:34

ArmInfo.The inspections at the Alaverdi copper smelter in Armenia were carried out as part of the annual scheduled inspection and were legitimate. This is stated  in the explanations of the Inspectorate for Ecology and Minerals of  the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia in  connection with the statement of "Armenian Copper Programme" (ACP -  part of the Vallex Group of Companies) on suspending the operation of  the Alaverdi Copper Smelter.

According to the press service of the regulator, the Inspection Body  on Ecology and Subsoil had obligations to carry out scheduled checks  in the current year. The inspection process, including the mechanism  for calculating damage, is regulated by legislative acts. The  inspection body does not have the right to independently determine  the choice of components to be tested (sulfur anhydride, copper  oxide, inorganic powder, etc.) or damage, and should be guided by the  amount of permissible emissions established by law and a permit  issued by a company authorized by the Ministry of Nature Protection.  As a result of the inspections, the company was imposed an  administrative fine in the amount of 300 thousand drams and about 378  million drams for environmental damage, which were accrued on the  basis of formulas established by government decisions. In parallel  with the administrative fine, the company was presented with an order  to transfer emission data to the competent authority, the volumes of  which are specified by the relevant permits and that also falls  within the competence of the supervisor.

As a result of inspections conducted on August 13-23, it turned out  that the company should have begun a gradual reduction in emissions  of harmful substances in 2012-2017. For example, by October 1, 2016,  sulfur dioxide emissions were to be reduced by 50%, and by October 1,  2017, by 90%. Similar measures were also envisaged for emissions of  other materials. The company did not object to the submitted claims.   However, the company did not carry out all the necessary actions or  they were very inefficient, as a result of which they did not  actually fulfill the established requirements. Moreover, on its own  initiative, the Inspectorate appealed to the Armenian Copper Program  with a proposal to carry out activities aimed at fulfilling the  instructions, which, however, were not implemented. Under these  conditions, the Inspectorate Authority considered it meaningless to  provide long-term emission reduction instructions, instead offering  the company to hold public discussions in Alaverdi, present the whole  truth, which happened on October 1.

Earlier Vallex Group issued  a statement about the reasons for  suspending the Alaverdi Copper  Smelter. According to the  information, on October 19, the work of the Alaverdi  copper smelter  was suspended - the 4th time during its 250- year  history. "The  suspension of the activity of ACP has a number of  reasons," the  statement read. In particular, as of October 1, 2017, the  enterprise's annual emissions of sulfur dioxide amounted to about 38  thousand tons,  despite the permissible level of 5,600 tons. "The  company paid 323  million drams to the budget against the  above-mentioned emissions,  and 340 million drams from  January-September 2018. Part of these  funds in the manner prescribed  by law was returned to neighboring  communities as compensation for  environmental losses. At the same  time, the cause of these emissions  is technological, the only  solution of which may be the construction  of a modern copper smelting plant, which requires large investments  based on the existing plant'', the statement read.

The company recalls that the State Inspectorate for Environmental   Protection in August 2018 fined the plant another 380 million drams   ($ 700,000) due to the results of inspections because of a serious   violation of environmental legislation from July 2015 to July 2018.   According to the instruction issued on the basis of this act, the   company is required to reduce emissions by 90% until December 25 of   the current year. The company today declares the practical   impossibility of fulfilling the requirements prescribed by the   environmental inspectorate.

"At the moment, we can report that,  according to the results of  various meetings and long negotiations  with the Chinese side, there  is a positive trend in the  implementation of the program for the  construction of a new copper smelter," Vallex informed, stressing  that for the implementation of  this "difficult" project government  assistance is needed, for which  a special working group was created  in the government.  At the same time, it is reported that in order to  build a mining  complex in Teghut, VTB Bank, in exchange for the  loans provided,  demanded that the assets and shares of ACP be laid  down along with  other guarantees. However, the legal processes  related to the  realization of the Bank's pledge rights to property  have not yet been  implemented.  "We inform that the goal of all  negotiations with the government is  to find a solution that is  beneficial for all parties, first of all,  for our citizens. With all  the problems associated with the operation  of the enterprise, the  company made the more difficult decision - to  suspend the activities  of the copper smelter and, according to the  labor code order,  terminate employment contracts with employees of  the enterprise,  "the statement read. 

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.