Armenian government to make reassessment of mineral resources
14.07.2020,
15:40
The government of Armenia will make a reassessment of the country's mineral resources, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Lilia Shushanyan said on Tuesday during a parliamentary discussion of amendments to the Law on Subsoil.
YEREVAN, July 14. /ARKA/. The government of Armenia will make a reassessment of the country's mineral resources, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructures Lilia Shushanyan said on Tuesday during a parliamentary discussion of amendments to the Law on Subsoil.
According to her, the reassessment will be an important reform of the last 2-3 decades, since currently all estimates are based on studies conducted in the Soviet era. She noted that many studies require updating not only in terms of reserves, but also in terms of production technologies, international prices and other indicators.
"Today we give permissions for development of mines based on Soviet data. According to the proposed amendments, entrepreneurs will be required to conduct research and resource assessments in the first couple of years of operation, which will be checked by the appropriate inspection body," said Shushanyan.
According to her, this will benefit both entrepreneurs and the state, since it will allow to obtain more accurate data and issue production licenses based on available resources.
She noted that this will also allow the use of more modern technologies and more efficiently solve environmental problems, and the business will be able to draw up more realistic business plans.
On July 8 members of the National Assembly discussed a bill submitted for the first reading that calls for amending the Law on Subsoil and some other related laws and changing the procedure for granting permits for the operation of mines.
According to Lilia Shushanyan, the bill is aimed at the efficient and rational use of the subsoil. She said one of the proposed changes says that mining permits are not to be issued for operation of mines with unexplored and unconfirmed reserves over the past five years in the case of metal mines and ten years in the case of the rest.
The bill also includes research manuals for various mines, currently being developed by Armenian scholars. In addition, mines will be provided for the extraction of all resources in full.
Shushanyan also said that if, under current legislation, the right to extract mineral resources is granted for a period of 50 years, the bill proposes to halve it for metal mines and to 15 years for all others. -0-
According to her, the reassessment will be an important reform of the last 2-3 decades, since currently all estimates are based on studies conducted in the Soviet era. She noted that many studies require updating not only in terms of reserves, but also in terms of production technologies, international prices and other indicators.
"Today we give permissions for development of mines based on Soviet data. According to the proposed amendments, entrepreneurs will be required to conduct research and resource assessments in the first couple of years of operation, which will be checked by the appropriate inspection body," said Shushanyan.
According to her, this will benefit both entrepreneurs and the state, since it will allow to obtain more accurate data and issue production licenses based on available resources.
She noted that this will also allow the use of more modern technologies and more efficiently solve environmental problems, and the business will be able to draw up more realistic business plans.
On July 8 members of the National Assembly discussed a bill submitted for the first reading that calls for amending the Law on Subsoil and some other related laws and changing the procedure for granting permits for the operation of mines.
According to Lilia Shushanyan, the bill is aimed at the efficient and rational use of the subsoil. She said one of the proposed changes says that mining permits are not to be issued for operation of mines with unexplored and unconfirmed reserves over the past five years in the case of metal mines and ten years in the case of the rest.
The bill also includes research manuals for various mines, currently being developed by Armenian scholars. In addition, mines will be provided for the extraction of all resources in full.
Shushanyan also said that if, under current legislation, the right to extract mineral resources is granted for a period of 50 years, the bill proposes to halve it for metal mines and to 15 years for all others. -0-
