Processes Regarding Amulsar Are a Result of Failures in State Management, What Are Salaries and Bonuses For? Robert Kocharyan

"What is happening today with Amulsar is not just a question of mining but also a failure of state management," said former President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan in a conversation with economic analysts and journalists covering economic issues.

"It is, of course, unacceptable that a group of people are blocking the activities of the company illegally, under the pretext of noble intentions. The state truly has a role here; if it does not want to engage, it should make that decision, not allow people to hold the mountain for 1.5-2 years in some shanties. Can you imagine the framing of it saying, 'we are holding our mountain'? I understand these people, as well as the emotional state of environmentalists, but this simply records that in this country, there is no state if the state has not been able to determine what it wants to do during this time," Kocharyan elaborated.

The second president stated that he has not read the environmental impact assessment regarding Amulsar and does not dominate the details, but one thing is clear: if there is even a small environmental risk, the mine should not operate. "As far as I understand, no one is stating that there are no risks; no official is saying this clearly. I assume that there are risks, and if there are risks, then it should not be operated. However, the state must make this decision. In the end, it is you who are there or not; in the end, you are receiving bonuses for making decisions, and you receive a salary for making decisions. It is the leader's job to make decisions—make a decision. There will be no decision that satisfies everyone," he said.

Referring to a journalist's observation that a similar situation occurred during Robert Kocharyan's presidency related to the Sotk mine, he was asked if the same solution could be applied in this case. Kocharyan replied, "The Russian company GeoProMining was very eager to build a processing plant near the mine. Every investor or businessman will have such a desire, and imagine a situation where the ore from Sotk is transported to Ararat, if I am not mistaken 241 km away, for processing, which accounted for 55 percent of the gold's production cost. At that time, the price of gold was twice as cheap as it is now; we didn’t even negotiate; we said, ‘stop, it’s impossible to put a factory of this caliber in the water basin of Lake Sevan.'"

Kocharyan stated that as a result of discussions regarding Sotk, they were able to receive certain privileges in terms of transporting ore at a lower tariff via the railway. "In the case of Amulsar, the operation of the open-pit mine near Jermuk is presumed to involve explosions every 2-3 days. Of course, this is unacceptable. The presence of a processing plant in that area is also dangerous; no one knows how the underground waters will behave. After all, even the smallest earthquake can change everything. We do not have a serious study map of underground waters; of course, it is dangerous, but we can suggest something instead of hiding for two years," he said.

Kocharyan expressed that the statements of officials around this issue are unclear—they are both hitting a nail and hammering at the same time. "I haven’t delved into it, but from my impression, one can suggest the closed operation of the mine and propose to relocate the processing plant. I am convinced that in this current gold price situation, they will agree; if they do not agree, someone else will agree," Kocharyan elaborated.