Vallex to lay off more than one thousand workers
05.02.2018,
16:24
The Vallex group of companies developing the Teghut copper and molybdenum deposit in Armenia’s northern province of Lori, announced plans to lay off more than one thousand workers.
YEREVAN, February 5. /ARKA/. The Vallex group of companies developing the Teghut copper and molybdenum deposit in Armenia’s northern province of Lori, announced plans to lay off more than one thousand workers.
According to a statement provided to the media, the Liechtenstein-registered company’s decision is prompted by the need for further research in order to significantly increase the output. To implement the research, the company will invite both local and international organizations.
Vallex said it will refrain from operating the mine in current volumes until it receives grounded proposals from experts and decides on their implementation.
Vallex said also that almost all the workers set to be laid off will receive notices about the impending termination of their contracts. It added that some of these workers will be provided with jobs at other enterprises it owns.
The company says it has invested more than $700 million in Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) over the past 20 years, including $400 million in the Teghut deposit.
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 so far. At the moment, the capacity of the enterprise allows processing up to 50,000 tons of copper concentrate per year and producing 13,000 tons of blister copper.
The Vallex group of companies includes Base Metals operating in Artsakh, the Armenian Copper Program operating the copper smelter in Armenia’s Alaverdi, the Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Vallex IT LLC, engaged in information technology. All these companies employ now about four thousand people. --0--
According to a statement provided to the media, the Liechtenstein-registered company’s decision is prompted by the need for further research in order to significantly increase the output. To implement the research, the company will invite both local and international organizations.
Vallex said it will refrain from operating the mine in current volumes until it receives grounded proposals from experts and decides on their implementation.
Vallex said also that almost all the workers set to be laid off will receive notices about the impending termination of their contracts. It added that some of these workers will be provided with jobs at other enterprises it owns.
The company says it has invested more than $700 million in Armenia and Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) over the past 20 years, including $400 million in the Teghut deposit.
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 so far. At the moment, the capacity of the enterprise allows processing up to 50,000 tons of copper concentrate per year and producing 13,000 tons of blister copper.
The Vallex group of companies includes Base Metals operating in Artsakh, the Armenian Copper Program operating the copper smelter in Armenia’s Alaverdi, the Institute of Mining Metallurgy and Vallex IT LLC, engaged in information technology. All these companies employ now about four thousand people. --0--
