Materials Regarding the 'Mgharti Gold Mine' Have Been Sent to the Prosecutor's Office

The Minister of Environment, Romanos Petrosyan, has sent a letter to the Chief Prosecutor of Armenia, Artur Davtyan, concerning several violations uncovered during the operation of the Mgharti gold mine by Multi Group Concern LLC. This information has been reported by the Ministry of Environment of Armenia.

Specifically, according to information provided by the Environmental and Mining Inspection Body, Multi Group Concern LLC has been operating the mine since 2011 without a water usage permit. Structures within the mining area were built without an environmental impact assessment, and permissible emission limits have been violated.

The letter indicates that on February 12, 2018, an application for an initial environmental impact assessment was submitted for the operation of open-pit mining techniques at the central section of the Mgharti gold mine for the years 2018-2037. According to this application, a factory was built in 2005, which was not submitted for assessment according to the procedures established by Armenian legislation.

The mentioned company has submitted several applications for the environmental impact assessment, but these have reportedly been sent back for additional documentation by the Ministry of Environment. The Ministry has appealed to the Environmental and Mining Inspection Body to conduct inspections at the Mgharti gold mine.

It was found that there are a beneficiation factory and a tailings dam within the mining area, which were constructed without an environmental impact assessment. According to Articles 15, Part 1, and 20, Part 6 of the same law, the planned activities cannot be conducted without a positive assessment result.

Furthermore, information has been presented regarding the necessary funding for environmental protection and ongoing monitoring.

Thus, the results of the Environmental and Mining Inspection Body's inspection revealed that the company has violated the requirements established by Armenian legislation regarding the operation of the mining complex. In particular, the company has operated the Mgharti gold mining complex without an environmental impact assessment for the beneficiation factory and tailings dam.

Considering that the Mining Code of Armenia reserves the authority for warning mineral users, as well as for the suspension and termination of mineral exploitation, for the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, the corresponding letter, along with attached documents, has also been sent to the Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure.

In the sent letter, Minister of Environment Romanos Petrosyan suggested that the Chief Prosecutor of Armenia instruct the relevant authorities to investigate the mentioned factual circumstances and corresponding documents in accordance with the established legal procedures.