VIDEO: In Syunik, the tailings pond of the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine has burst, pouring waste water into the village

The waste waters from the Zangezur Copper-Molybdenum Combine continue to heavily pollute the Voghji River and the nearby settlements of the tailings pond. The ‘Zhoghovurd’ newspaper has been informed that recently, the waste waters and tailings from the 'Artzvanik' tailings pond belonging to the combine have reached not only the Achjanan tributary and, subsequently, the Voghji River, but also the surrounding settlements, contaminating the environment and damaging agricultural enterprises.

Geologist Levon Galstyan, who is well aware of the issues concerning the 'Artzvanik' tailings pond and the damage it has caused, states that there has always been and continues to be leakage of waste from the tailings pond. He explains, “The thing is that the solid part of the tailings sediment settles in the pond, while the liquid mass flows towards Achjanan. If you look closely, the color of the tributary is even different – it is clean before the tailings pond and silvery after it, and that can be seen even with the naked eye. Although the ZPMK assures that they have permission for the specified emissions from the relevant authorities, there have been numerous incidents where laboratory tests showed that the wastewater, rich in heavy and hazardous metals, exceeds the allowed concentrations. Of course, there are also accidents; the pipes that transport tailings to the pond burst, are damaged, or punctured, which, in turn, adds to the environmental pollution. It is a fact that daily, various amounts of tailings water are poured into the Achjanan tributary and subsequently into the Voghji River.”

Regarding the authorized body, the Environmental and Mining Inspection, the agency first acknowledged our inquiry and promised to respond by the end of the day, then requested a written inquiry after the work hours concluded. Of course, we did not do this and are not planning to do so, as the agency responsible for environmental protection should not be chasing after written inquiries and only responding days later about what has happened or is happening, but instead immediately follow up on the reports, investigate the incident, and take preventive measures. The response from the inspection body, by the way, reflects its working style, which is essentially in a state of inertia.

The environmental NGO ‘Kapantsi’ has published a video on their Facebook page with the caption: “The Voghji River in the city of Kajaran. This has been the situation for three days.”