ArmInfo. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan received member of the Board of Directors of GeoProMining LLC Roman Trotsenko, the press service of the RA PM reports.
The interlocutors discussed the upcoming investment programs and projects by the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine.
"I would like to welcome you and first of all thank you for donating 25% of the company's shares to the Republic of Armenia, as a result of which the 15% of the ZCMC capital has passed to the Republic of Armenia. We hope that all the agreements will be implemented and brought to life, which is important not only for your company, but also for our economy. We believe that the implementation of the agreements will contribute to the strengthening and development of Armenia's economy", PM Pashinyan said.
In his turn, Roman Trotsenko said, ''Thank you for the constant attention towards the mining sector of Armenia, where numerous problems have accumulated during the last decades. We are happy for the cooperation with the Armenian Government, which will allow to stabilize the situation around the Combine, carry out large-scale and long-term investment programs in Armenia's mining sector, the total volume of which will reach around 4 billion USD. This will allow to reprocess the product, build new production facilities and copper-smelting plant so that Armenia will ba able to produce copper, not concentrate, as well as a new nuclear power plant. As a result of these programs new jobs and opportunities will be created which will open new development paths''.
The Prime Minister noted that the construction of copper smelter plant will lead to new demand for electricity. ''The successful implementation of the programs is important for us and we hope that they will give a new impetus for the implementation of the program of constructing a new nuclear power plant in Armenia. The Republic of Armenia is interested in that program and will support for its maximally effective implementation'', Nikol Pashinyan said.
The Prime Minister expressed confidence that the donation of the 25% of the shares of the company, which is the 15% of the total capital of the ZCMC, will foster the public-private cooperation and the future effective operation of the ZCMC.
The interlocutors also highlighted the timely implementation of programs and agreed to cooperate actively in this direction.
GeoProMining LLC entered Armenia in 2007, with the acquisition of GPM Gold, which develops the Sotsk gold deposit and the Ararat gold recovery plant. Then the company acquired the Agarak copper- molybdenum plant. 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. Thus, the "GPM Gold" company became the first in the world, where the innovative "Albion" technology for the processing of refractory ore was successfully introduced. Agarak CMC 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 US dollars to various social projects as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility Program. To note, founder of Geopromining Siman Povarenkin sold the company to businessman Roman Trotsenko, who obtained the capital of the company in 2020.
To note, Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine CJSC (ZCMC) is the largest mining company in Armenia. The plant develops the Kajaran copper-molybdenum deposit. The plant produces molybdenum and copper concentrates. Molybdenum concentrate contains 50% molybdenum, the copper content in copper concentrate is not less than 15%. Previously, the controlling stake in the enterprise (60%) belonged to the German Cronimet Mining company. The new board of the company's share capital, including the minority shareholders, is not yet known.
