ArmInfo."Industrial Company" and the Government of Armenia (GOA) are happy to announce that the Company has granted the Republic of Armenia and the GOA has accepted a 25% share of the Company.
"Industrial Company" holds 60% of the shares of the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC). The granted 25% shares constitute 15% of the equity of ZCMC that will consequently belong to the Republic of Armenia. "Industrial Company" is a fully owned subsidiary of "Georpromining Armenia". The company has acquired 60% of ZCMC on 30 September 2021, the press service of the Armenian government informs.
Roman Trotsenko, Geopromining BOD Member, commented on the transaction. "Geopromining has been operating in Armenia for many years, and we have been a reliable partner for the Republic of Armenia and Armenians for almost 2 decades. We have gladly embraced the opportunity to further expand our business in Armenia and acquire majority share at ZCMC, while offering the Republic of Armenia 15% equity participation. We intend to expand cooperation with the Government of Armenia and this is the first step in a broader investment vision. The Republic of Armenia, the people and our shareholders will benefit from all this, as well as new opportunities will open up for the Armenian economy. We also have a goal to start the construction of a new copper smelter in Armenia in the coming years". Suren Papikyan, DPM of Armenia commented. "We would like to thank "Industrial Company" for offering the people of Armenia an opportunity to own a share in one of the largest industrial assets of the country. This practice that is common in mining worldwide can be a demonstration for the people of Armenia of how the notion of stakeholder capitalism and shared values work in practice. We are confident that this joint project will be a start for a better governed, more inclusive and sustainable mining sector in Armenia, that will benefit the country and its investors".
It should be reminded that in the 20th of September Roman Trotsenko stated in Yerevan that AEON Corporation is showing interest in the construction of a copper smelter in Armenia (smelter). In an interview with an ArmInfo correspondent, Trotsenko stressed that the company has not yet begun to study the possibilities of implementing this project (fieasibility study), since this requires a political decision on what the project will be; to determine the place, the nature of this project, since it is associated with such things as energy, the generation of which is still not enough, the water circulation cycle, related to questions about where to get water and how to use it, and other issues. This, as the businessman noted, is a rather complex project, so you need to go through it in stages. As a rule, it takes 2-2.5 years from the start of a project to the first construction, so today we are at the very beginning of its discussion. "I agree that this is a good project and now it is necessary to implement it, finding resources, space, energy for it," Trotsenko stressed.
It should be noted that the Geopromining group of companies (GeoProMining) entered Armenia since 2007, with the acquisition of GPM Gold, which operates the Sotk gold deposit and the Ararat gold recovery plant. Then the company acquired the Agarak Copper-Molybdenum Combine. The company has invested about $ 400 million in the Armenian economy and has become the largest private industrial investor in Armenia. The investments were aimed at technical re-equipment and technological modernization of two enterprises. So the company "GPM Gold" became the first in the world, where the innovative technology "Albion" for the processing of refractory ores was successfully introduced. Agarak Combine has successfully completed two stages of production modernization. "GeoProMining" is one of the five largest taxpayers in Armenia. The company has also committed more than $ 10 million to various social projects as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility program. Geopromining founder Siman Povarenkin sold the company to businessman Roman Trotsenko, who entered the company's capital in 2020.
