Armenia Could Have a Modern Copper Smelter, Says Teghut LLC Director

Teghut LLC, one of the largest employers in the Lori region and a major taxpayer in Armenia, has successfully resumed operations in a record short time and within a minimal budget, according to the company's Executive Director Karen Ghazaryan.

“The enrichment plant has been fully operational again in a record short timeframe and within the planned minimal budget. In an incredibly short time, we have managed to form a young yet skilled team, involving local community members, significantly reducing the social burden in the region,” he stated.

“We are operating within the framework of the mining and processing permit granted by the regulatory authority, extracting and processing 7 million tons of ore annually with a high extraction ratio. Currently, we have around 950 employees, over 91 percent of whom are residents of the Lori region, which addresses a significant social issue in the area.”

Teghut LLC also supports employees who became unemployed due to the closure of the Alaverdi Copper Smelter by employing 50 of them. As part of the community assistance program, they are funding a fruit orchard planting initiative in collaboration with the enlarged community of Shnogh, with plans to hand over the orchards to local residents.

Over the past 3-4 years, the company has funded and planted about 45 hectares of fruit orchards. Even before the resumption of operations, the company was conducting and continues to actively pursue social initiatives, consistently supporting various issues in the affected community, such as financing street lighting in Shnogh, addressing pressing issues in the schools, kindergartens, and cultural centers of the communities (Shnogh, Teghut, and Karkop), as well as providing support for the community's children during holidays through monetary gifts or necessary supplies.

“Armenia is capable of having a modern copper smelter,” said Karen Ghazaryan, asserting that the country cannot develop evenly without industry. “Considering the volume of concentrates produced in Armenia, it is feasible to construct a modern smelter here.”

“Currently, approximately 500 thousand tons of copper concentrate are produced in Armenia and Artsakh, which, recalculating for copper-metal, accounts for about 125 thousand tons annually. This indicates the availability of local raw materials in Armenia and favorable conditions for building a modern copper smelter.”

“Historically, the South Caucasus had one large copper smelter, the Alaverdi Copper Smelter, which is currently not operational. In this regard, the initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping's 'One Belt, One Road' project, which includes Armenia due to its geographical location, is of great interest to us.”

The fact that Chinese state companies have already made hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Belarus indicates that Armenia should also actively participate in the localization of this project, especially in terms of investment cooperation, by presenting specific investment plans.

To increase and make the volumes of investment attraction in Armenia more appealing, potential investors need to feel 'protected' in the country. Additionally, it is necessary to ease tax legislation and lighten the tax burden, particularly for newly established companies or foreign investors during the first 3-5 years of operation. While this may prevent certain amounts from entering the state budget in the upcoming years, investors will bring in significant sums to the state budget over the long term.

The main prerequisites for investors are 'clear rules of the game', a stable environment, and a fair judicial system. A businessman must be confident that in the event of an obstacle, he can protect his rights in higher courts and/or in accordance with the law,” Ghazaryan emphasized.

Recognized in business circles as a skilled specialist in finance, investment, and the mining sector, Karen Ghazaryan is the director of a Russian investment organization (Investment fund) that has made tens of millions of dollars in investments in Armenia and CIS countries.

When asked which sectors of the Armenian economy interest him for investment and whether there are other areas where he is willing to invest, he responded that he has his own projects for creating solar photovoltaic plants, with a 2-megawatt solar photovoltaic plant currently under construction in the Kotayk region, set to be commissioned in the fourth quarter of 2019. The next investment project is the construction of a 5-megawatt plant in the Gegharkunik region.

Ghazaryan is a graduate of the Faculty of Economics of Yerevan State University, holds a PhD in economic sciences, and received his master's degree from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School in New York. He has undergone training at Harvard Business School in mergers and acquisitions. He is also a graduate of the 'Maskey' and 'Youth Achievements' programs.

He is the author of numerous articles and works published in Armenia, the USA, and Russia, with over 18 years of experience in investment and finance sectors in the USA and Russia. In Denmark, Russia, and CIS countries, Karen Ghazaryan is known for successful transactions in company acquisitions, while in Armenia, he is recognized as a reputable anti-crisis manager who has attracted tens of millions of dollars to the industrial sector, with all projects and enterprises led by him achieving the best indicators during his tenure.