ArmInfo. The sale of the Teghut copper-molybdenum deposit in Armenia's Lori region, which VTB had announced was in the works back in the spring, has been completed. According to Vahe Davtyan, Doctor of Political Science and Senior Researcher in the Caucasus Studies Sector at the Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IMEMO RAS), this is more than just a standard corporate transaction.
"Teghut is the second-largest copper and molybdenum deposit in Armenia. Its estimated reserves are approximately 450 million tons of ore, and its production infrastructure includes an operating mining and processing plant," the expert recalled, citing the asset's history as revealing. He recalled that after Vallex Group failed to service its loan obligations, the mine was transferred to VTB's control in 2018 to pay off a debt of approximately $380 million. By the end of 2024, the outstanding liabilities to the bank already exceeded 162 billion Armenian drams, or approximately $440 million.
"For VTB, holding an industrial asset was not part of its core business. As early as April of this year, the bank's head, Andrey Kostin, announced that the sale was in its final stages. It is now closed. A new chapter began in June, when the company 'Cuprar RA' applied to the Armenian Competition Protection Commission for authorization to acquire shares in 'Teghut.' On July 7, the regulator approved the transaction. Notably, the ultimate beneficiaries of the new owner have yet to be disclosed, and the company itself was only registered in February 2026," Davtyan noted.
According to the expert, despite the challenges of recent years, the asset retains strategic importance. Following a production halt in 2022 caused by sanctions against Russia and the disruption of logistics chains extraction has been gradually recovering. Davtyan reported that in 2024, the enterprise produced 88,000 tons of copper concentrate, which was exported to China, Russia, and Switzerland. "Today, copper is becoming a key resource for the global economy. It is one of the basic metals of the energy transition: wind and solar power plants, as well as electric vehicles, require 4-12 times more copper than traditional energy infrastructure and internal combustion engine vehicles. The main question now is not only who the new owner of the asset will be. Equally important is the investment strategy the new owner will propose, whether they will be able to modernize production, increase processing volumes, and integrate Teghut into new international supply chains," Davtyan said. According to him, the answers to these questions will determine not only the future of the enterprise, but also Armenia's place on the rapidly changing map of the global critical minerals market.
The Teghut copper-molybdenum mine development program was approved by the Armenian government in November 2007. The Teghut mine is the second largest in the country in terms of reserves, after the Kajaran copper-molybdenum mine in Syunik. Large-scale geological exploration was conducted here in 1972, confirming reserves of 450 million tons of ore containing 1.6 million tons of copper and 99,000 tons of molybdenum. The project was suspended in February 2018 due to environmental concerns. At the time, it was stated that mine development could only resume after resolving a number of technical and environmental issues, which effectively led to the company losing its credit support. On November 21, 2018, Armenian Minister of Energy Infrastructure and Natural Resources Garegin Baghramyan told reporters that VTB Bank was selecting a new operator for the Teghut project.
It should be noted that, according to media reports, the owner of Kuprar RA CJSC is former government official and banker Sergey Virabyan. It is currently headed by Artem Geghamyan, who previously worked as a lawyer for the former owner of the Teghut mining project, Vallex Group. According to Radio Liberty, Sergey Virabyan personally confirmed to journalists that he had purchased Teghut's debt from VTB solely for commercial purposes, with the intention of reselling it. In an official interview, he declined to disclose the name of the final buyer, citing commercial confidentiality. At the same time, the radio station's sources claim that American businessman Konstantin Sokolov, who is the beneficiary of the Cypriot company Fedilco Group Limited, which owns the telecommunications operator Viva Armenia, has expressed serious interest in the deal.
Meanwhile, it was announced today that the US State Department has officially approved Sokolov as head of the Tripp+ Enterprise Fund, with an initial capital of $201 million, with the potential to expand to $400- 600 million. The fund was created as part of the US geopolitical project "Trump's Route" for long-term lending and strategic investments in the infrastructure and private sector of Armenia and other countries in the region. According to media reports, Sokolov is a long-standing Trump donor and has contributed approximately $11-12 million to his election campaigns through political action committees (Super PACs).
