Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06YEREVAN1062
2006-08-04 12:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Yerevan
Cable title:
BASE METALS LLC TO INVEST USD 20 MILLION IN NAGORNO
how-toVZCZCXRO0727 RR RUEHDBU RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHYE #1062 2161248 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 041248Z AUG 06 FM AMEMBASSY YEREVAN TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3662 INFO RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 1088 RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0484
UNCLAS YEREVAN 001062
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EMIN EINV AM
SUBJECT: BASE METALS LLC TO INVEST USD 20 MILLION IN NAGORNO
KARABAKH
Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.
UNCLAS YEREVAN 001062
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EMIN EINV AM
SUBJECT: BASE METALS LLC TO INVEST USD 20 MILLION IN NAGORNO
KARABAKH
Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.
1. (U) Base Metals LLC., an Armenian-registered and
Lichtenstein-based private company, announced plans to invest an
additional USD 20 million in its copper and gold mining operations
in the village of Drmbon in Nagorno Karabakh (NK). According to
press reports, the company employs a majority of the village
population and is the most lucrative business and largest taxpayer
in the region. Base Metals belongs to the Vallex Group of companies
which also includes the Armenian Copper Program (ACP),Vallex
Mining, Vallex Stone, Vallex IT, and the Mining and Metallurgy
Institute.
2. (SBU) Base Metals conducted a geological survey of the Drmbon
deposit in 2002 and completed construction of an ore-dressing plant
at the site in September 2003. The company's press secretary is
quoted in the press saying that at end of 2005, Base Metals had
invested a total of USD 15 million in NK. Head of the ACP Planning
Department Artak Manukyan told us (during a conversation on other
issues) that the Drmbon plant's current monthly output amounts to
1,200 tons of copper concentrate, which is then transported to the
ACP-owned smelter in Alaverdi, Armenia, for further processing. The
final product of the Alaverdi smelter, gold-rich blister copper, is
primarily exported to the European market.
3. (U) According to a recent press statement made by Executive
Director of Base Metals LLC Artur Mkrtumyan, the mine is one of the
largest foreign investments in NK. The mine employs approximately
1,000 people at an average monthly salary of USD 300 and operates on
a 24-hour schedule. Mkrtumyan estimated that the deposits at the
site were sufficient to support expanded operations for the next 20
years and told the press that Base Metals was continuing to explore
for new deposits throughout NK.
EVANS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON EMIN EINV AM
SUBJECT: BASE METALS LLC TO INVEST USD 20 MILLION IN NAGORNO
KARABAKH
Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.
1. (U) Base Metals LLC., an Armenian-registered and
Lichtenstein-based private company, announced plans to invest an
additional USD 20 million in its copper and gold mining operations
in the village of Drmbon in Nagorno Karabakh (NK). According to
press reports, the company employs a majority of the village
population and is the most lucrative business and largest taxpayer
in the region. Base Metals belongs to the Vallex Group of companies
which also includes the Armenian Copper Program (ACP),Vallex
Mining, Vallex Stone, Vallex IT, and the Mining and Metallurgy
Institute.
2. (SBU) Base Metals conducted a geological survey of the Drmbon
deposit in 2002 and completed construction of an ore-dressing plant
at the site in September 2003. The company's press secretary is
quoted in the press saying that at end of 2005, Base Metals had
invested a total of USD 15 million in NK. Head of the ACP Planning
Department Artak Manukyan told us (during a conversation on other
issues) that the Drmbon plant's current monthly output amounts to
1,200 tons of copper concentrate, which is then transported to the
ACP-owned smelter in Alaverdi, Armenia, for further processing. The
final product of the Alaverdi smelter, gold-rich blister copper, is
primarily exported to the European market.
3. (U) According to a recent press statement made by Executive
Director of Base Metals LLC Artur Mkrtumyan, the mine is one of the
largest foreign investments in NK. The mine employs approximately
1,000 people at an average monthly salary of USD 300 and operates on
a 24-hour schedule. Mkrtumyan estimated that the deposits at the
site were sufficient to support expanded operations for the next 20
years and told the press that Base Metals was continuing to explore
for new deposits throughout NK.
EVANS