Sona Harutyunyan, the press secretary of the Ministry of Territorial Administration and Infrastructure, informed that the tailing dams in the Lori region were not affected by the natural disaster – the Debed River flooding. The dams remain undamaged, and no problems have arisen.
“Continuous monitoring is being conducted. There is no damage or threat from the tailing dams,” emphasized Harutyunyan. Lori is the second region in Armenia with the highest number of tailing dams, following Syunik, with nine dams in total. We inquired about the current state of the tailing dams, which operate alongside metallic mines, from the leaders of the mining companies and the regional administration.
Teghut CJSC operates the Teghut mine and its associated ore processing plant. The company’s general director, Vladimir Nalayvayko, stated that the disaster had no impact on the tailing dam. However, he mentioned that ore extraction and processing activities have been suspended. During the flood, tailing dam workers undertook urgent measures to prevent water flow towards the dam. The dam is currently reinforced with additional rocky soil, and the strengthening work, which began two years ago, is still ongoing.
International experts have previously expressed mixed opinions on the strength and reliability of the Teghut tailing dam. Last year, the mine’s operations were halted to ensure its stability and resumed only in July of the previous year.
Mher Melkonyan, the administrative head of the Teghut community, also assured that the tailing dam is in good condition. Furthermore, he stated that despite the high water levels, the village of Teghut was not affected by the disaster.
The activities of Multi Group Concern LLC, owned by Prosperous Armenia party leader Gagik Tsarukyan, have been halted. The company, which operates the Mghart gold mine, has three tailing dams. Vrej Kazaryan, the administrative head of the Mghart village in the Alaverdi community, reported after speaking with tailing dam workers that the situation is stable.
In the village of Armanis in the Stepanavan community, the Sagamar CJSC operates a gold mine, a processing plant, and tailing dams. The mine has been inactive since 2015. Although the tailings near the village have dried up, there have been continuous reports of discolored water flowing from the tailing dam into the Chknakh tributary of the Dzoraget River. Samvel Antonyan, the administrative head of Armanis, personally inspected the area and found no issues with the tailing dams. Despite the proximity of the Armanis tailing dam to the Dzoraget River tributary, it is situated on an elevated area.
