Open pit mining at Sotk gold mine close to completion – deputy minister

YEREVAN, May 12. /ARKA/. The open pit mining at the Sotk gold mine located close to the border with Azerbaijan in Armenian province of Gegharkunik was to be completed back in late autumn last year, but after negotiations with the government the GeoProMining Gold company, which develops the mine, decided to continue the work, Deputy Minister of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure Hovhannes Harutyunyan said on Friday.
He said after the negotiations the developing company agreed to retain a large part of the more than 700 staff, who were to work until the summer of this year. After that, they will be dismissed.
‘Thanks to the government's intervention and the negotiations, the term of employees' contracts was prolonged by another 5-6 months. The company continues to pay wages, although the operations of the mine have been halted due to periodical gunfire from the other side of the border," the Deputy Minister said at a meeting of the National Assembly’s Committee on Economic Affairs.
He said the GeoProMining Gold company has switched to closed mining. ‘This means that certain changes have taken place in the project, which, one way or another, should have led to a reduction in staff,’ he said.
The Deputy Minister also said that the enemy's periodic shelling on the line of contact in no way hinders the "closed" mining. Moreover, the open pit mining will be completed in a month because of the complete depletion of the resources available there.--0--