Geological service to be founded in Armenia in 2027 

ArmInfo. A national geological service will be established in Armenia in 2027. Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure of Armenia  Asatur Vardanyan announced this to journalists on the sidelines of  the Mining Forum Armenia.

Currently, the Ministry is taking effective steps, collaborating with  foreign geological services, particularly from the United States and  EU countries. "And we are trying to implement this model here," he  noted.

Vardanyan explained that the state will commission these surveys from  the geological service, which will allow the identification of new  deposits and their offering to investors, who will receive guarantees  of investment protection and a high degree of predictability.

It's worth noting that in his speech at the forum, Roman Khudoli, CEO  of ZCMC, the country's largest mining company, noted that no new  mining deposits have been discovered in Armenia over the past 10  years, and not a single new enterprise, even medium-sized, has been  established. This poses a serious challenge that requires urgent  attention. In light of this, Khudoli did not rule out the possibility  that many of the eight operating mining companies in the country will  cease mining operations by 2038. "If nothing is done, the sector will  become exhausted," the head of ZCMC noted. He emphasized the  importance of conducting geological exploration in Armenia, noting  that a mine operator cannot undertake such tasks independently.  Despite ZCMC conducting such research itself, Khudoli emphasized that  a strong state strategy and policy are needed to withstand such a  burden in this area. He emphasized the need to create an Armenian  geological service that would undertake the study of the country's  subsoil, future deposits, the assessment of promising areas,  geological surveys, etc.

As a reminder, until the mid-1990s, the Armgeology Geological  Production Association operated in Armenia, conducting geological  surveys and reserve assessments. The State Register of Mineral  Reserves currently lists approximately 670 solid mineral deposits  with confirmed reserves, including 30 metallic deposits. Of these  deposits, approximately 400 are being exploited, including  approximately 20 metallic deposits. The subsoil of the Republic of  Armenia is rich in the following metallic minerals: iron, copper,  molybdenum, lead, zinc, gold, silver, antimony, aluminum, as well as  the rare metal placers contained within them. Among metallic  minerals, there are 7 copper-molybdenum deposits, 4 copper deposits,  14 gold and gold-polymetallic deposits, 2 iron ore deposits, and 1  aluminum ore deposit. In addition to the main metals, rare elements  and their placers have been identified in the ore of deposits  registered in the State Register: rhenium, selenium, tellurium,  cadmium, indium, helium, thallium, bismuth and others.