Alen Amirkhanian’s Article on Mining in AmCham Magazine

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The American University of Armenia (AUA) is happy to share that Alen Amirkhanian, director of the AUA Center for Responsible Mining, published an article titled “On Mining, Which Way Armenia?” in the fall/winter 2019 issue of the AmCham Magazine.

The featured article touches upon the future of mining in Armenia and the policy process Armenia should be undertaking. Amirkhanian also reflects on a number of studies conducted by the previous and current governments and suggests ways for stakeholders to deal with the mining sector. 

Amirkhanian suggests some targets to keep in mind. He writes, “The active mining facilities demonstrate a wide variety of operational sophistication. All, however, need significant upgrade in their environmental and social performance. Further, the state needs to aggressively improve its governance capacities in this sector to ensure that public interest is served.”

He further writes that “Armenia will have to deal with mining, both current and legacy, for a long time to come. Even if as a country we decide to disengage from this sector, it would take decades to do this. We would need to address significant closure, recultivation, cleanup and socioeconomic transition challenges, particularly in the Syunik and Lori regions.” 

The full article can be accessed on the publications webpage of the AUA Center of Responsible Mining or the American Armenian Chamber of Commerce.

The American University of Armenia (AUA) Center for Responsible Mining promotes the creation as well as transfer and adoption in Armenia of best practices in socially, environmentally, and economically responsible mining. AUA Center for Responsible Mining works with companies, civil society, and the public sector to achieve this goal. More information can be found at http://crm.aua.am.