Hakob Sanasaryan, chairman of the “Greens’ Union of Armenia”, told journalists at a press conference that recently he has been in the Teghut mine of Lori province and recorded gross violations of mine exploitation.
“The operating company “Valex” had told they would build a tailing, the floor of which would be isolated, and the danger threatening the environment would be zeroed. That’s not so. The bulwark is wrongly built. The forest was cut, and now the tail pours on the cut trees and vegetation, “swallows”… that is no isolation. A bulwark had to be set in the middle of the valley, but it has been put on the edge, not far from Shnogh. The height of the tailing must be more than 260 meters. This is a lie because they always told the Teghut mine would become a criterion”, said Hakob Sanasaryan.
According to him, the tailing is pouring into the Shnogh river, which is the tributary of Debed: “There were eight species of fish in Shnogh, and now there is none, not even insects, and frogs, the gardens of the Shnogh residents were dried up after being irrigated with this water”. The ecologist mentioned that Teghut mine exploitation company intends to exploit some adjacent mines, where there is copper, molybdenum, uranium: “These territories are 14,000 hectares. The surrounding residences and territories will also die”.
Luiza SUKIASYAN
