Armenian authorities to discuss Teghut copper mine’s problems with VTB bank management

YEREVAN, March 18. /ARKA/. The Armenian government will discuss soon the current problems of Teghut copper mine, one of Armenia’s largest copper mining companies located in the eponymous village in the north of Armenia, with the management of Russian VTB bank that was sanctioned by the West over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said in an interview with CivilNet.

VTB bank’s Armenian subsidiary that took over Teghut in 2019 after its previous owner -  the Liechtenstein-registered Vallex group of companies - failed to repay a $400 million loan provided by the bank, had to suspend operations due to the sanctions.

However, according to the official explanation of the company, cited by the minister in the interview, the mine suspended operations in order to refurbish its waste disposal facility and a pipe feeding it.

“Since maximizing economic growth is very important to us, we will do our best to ensure that the mine is idle as little as possible, especially, given the high price of copper,” the minister said.

Asked what measures the authorities will take, the minister noted that there are several scenarios.

“Now we are trying to help the company get rid of the problems it has now. The problems are different. VTB management will arrive in Armenia in the near future, and we will hold substantive discussions,” he said.

The company, which ranked 10th in the list of the largest corporate taxpayers in Armenia in 2021 (it paid about 15.3 billion drams in taxes  or $30 million) employs more than 1000 workers.

According to estimates, made back in Soviet times, the deposit’s potential is 450 million tons of ore, of which the company confirmed only a fifth.