Stealing Armenia's Gold, Again

Ah, gold. What self-respecting Armenian doesn't have at least a few pounds of it stashed somewhere? As of this very moment, the price of Gold stands at $833.20, having made a mad rush to that position in the last few years, no thanks to the present economic uncertainties. So where does Armenia fit in all of this, you ask?

In the town of Ararat - about an hour's drive south of Yerevan, Armenia's capital - investors from Russia have moved in to take control of what is believed to be one of the biggest gold-mining operations in the country.

But there's more to it than that.

Azerbaijan says a considerable amount of the Zod mine is in its territory, at present occupied by the Armenian military.

And let's not forget the previous owners:

In 2002, AGRC was taken over by a company controlled by the family of Indian mining billionaire Aneel Agarwal. But its operations were closed down after the Armenian authorities accused the company of reneging on various licensing agreements. The company was charged with tax fraud and environmental violations and ordered to pay millions of dollars in fines.

Besides the laughable notion of the Armenian government charging anyone with tax fraud, this is yet another nail in the coffin that is Armenia's economic future. We've given away nearly everything in the name of short term profits, but what of the future?

Critics will contend that some of the assets are actually on a long-term lease, but this isn't the case with all of them. Besides, how absurd is it that to revitalize the economy and move it forward means giving control of important assets to foreigners? We only have so much left!

Source: BBC News

Help Save Teghut's Forest From Mining

It's not often that I ask readers to do something for the greater good, especially since a very small percentage of people would even consider spending a minute or two to help save a forest in their homeland. However, I urge you to do just that.

Armenian Copper Program (ACP), with approval from Armenia’s Ministry of Nature Protection, plans to clear-cut over 1,500 acres of Teghut's forest in order to establish an open pit strip mining operation for copper and molybdenum ore.

In addition, ACP plans to create a "tailing dump" in a nearby pristine gorge, where heavy metals and other toxins from mining waste will leach into the ground and into the river flowing through the gorge, ultimately contaminating the local water supply.

I don't think any of you want to see a forest cut down and the environment polluted. Even if you don't care about the animals, trees, and so on, you almost certainly care about the people there who would have a higher risk of disease, birth defects, and so on.

And if you think your voice won't matter, you're wrong: over two years ago, Armenia Tree Project and many other NGOS and international organizations came together to save the Shikahogh Nature Reserve from sure destruction! If it was done before, it can be done again.

I'm starting to sound like a PBS Pledge Drive, so I'll just give you the link: Save Teghut's Forest

Armenia & Russia to Seek Uranium

Yes, in Armenia.

...the two sides will set up a joint venture that will explore areas in the southeastern Syunik region which Armenian and Russian geologists believe are rich in uranium. He was confident that they will discover commercially viable reserves of the radioactive metal used in nuclear power generation.

"Armenia will be able to meet its needs and sell [uranium] to others..."

As long as the environmental impact is well understood and managed, the latter being highly unlikely, exporting Uranium can be lucrative for Armenia. Global prices for a pound - that's 450 grams - of Uranium are currently hovering around $75 and a further escalation towards or even past $100/pound is expected.

Source: ArmeniaLiberty