YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 20, NOYAN TAPAN. The November 20 joint parliamentary hearings held on the initiative of a number of standing committees of the RA National Sssembly were dedicated to the environmental consequences of the construction of the Teghut mining enterprise and the operation of the Teghut copper and molybdenum mine, as well as to the compex program on elimination of these consequences. MPs, heads of the ministries interested, representatives of local self-government bodies and NGOs, and experts took part in the hearings. It was stated that the Teghut copper and molybdenum mine is the second largest in Armenia after the Kajaran mine. Armenian Copper Program (ACP) company, which has received a licence for the mine's operation for 25 years, has made an assessment of the impact of construction and operation of the Teghut mining enterprise on the environment, as well as developed a respective project that has received a positive expert conclusion of the RA ministry of environmental protection in 2006. The company has also presented an environmental management plan, which envisages preventive measures aimed at reducing the negative impact of emissions, noise, flows, deforestation, and landscape changes. Restoration of forests should start in parallel with the construction work. The director of ACP company Gagik Arzumanian assured those present that the Teghut project has undergone all stages of the expert examination stipulated by law, and the mine will be operated in accordance with all environmental protection requirements envisaged by the legislation. However, in the words of the chairwoman of "For Sustainable Development" NGO Karine Danielian, environmental NGOs have serious concerns about the Teghut project. She said that the development of tourism anf agriculture in Armenia cannot be combined with such volumes of mining. Besides, there is concern that losses in Teghut will be greater than is stated. In particular, more areas covered with trees may be destroyed as a result of a change in the water formation mechanisms. According to K. Danielian, it is possible to continue the operation of the Alaverdi copper-foundry by binging raw materials from Kajaran, while the Teghut mine should be closed temporarily until it can be operated by the closed method with the use of new technologies. In her opinion, Armenia's clean ecosystems rich in biodiversity are of greater interest than the mining industry and they may prove much more efficient to the economy if used correctly. Undelining the importance of operating the Teghut mine for Armenia's economy, the RA minister of environmental protection Ara Harutyunian at the same time attached great importance to the implementation of environmental protection programs by the mining company. During a talk with NT correspondent, the minister said that as regards control of these programs' efficiency, the government anticipates assistance of NGOs in this issue. In his words, prior to the start of mining, it is necessary to control the deforestation and forest restoration processes, the construction of the tailing pits and the mining enterpise, while after the start of production, pollution of the environement must be under control.

---