"Fact" daily writes:
"As is known, in 2024 according to the data of the first nine months, the Zangezur copper-molybdenum combine is again the first taxpayer and, according to the data of the third quarter, it exceeded the indicator of the same period of last year by more than 30 billion drams. A logical question may arise: what is the cause of such growth?
"Mining is a cyclical business, and tax payments, the company's profit can depend on a variety of circumstances: global metal prices, mining characteristics of that region, and also administration. In this case, it's a combination of all these," said Vardan Jhanyan, the first deputy general director of ZPMK, president of the Union of Miners and Metallurgists of Armenia, in a conversation with "Pasti".
To the question of whether this is also due to the fact that in the last 10 years, ZPMK was the first taxpayer for only 4 years, of which 3 are the last three years, and whether the improvement of administration in recent years also played a role. played, our interlocutor answers. "As I said, it is a combination of circumstances. Of course, the administration has a role, but also the increase in metal prices in recent years has its significant role." We wonder how many years this trend will last.
Considering the demand for metals, can the country expect a greater economic role from the mining sector? "With the green transformation of the global economy, demand for metals in the market is likely to remain, although this also depends on various circumstances, including global economic development, stability, how quickly is the development, the more the demand for metals increases.
But also, each mine has its own characteristics, depending on the quality and volume of extraction, the change in ore content, so making a forecast is quite difficult. As for the sector in general, the sector in Armenia is quite small. Look, only ZPMK is in the top twenty taxpayers, and this makes it clear even to a person unfamiliar with the sector that, contrary to popular belief, there are very few even medium-sized mining companies in Armenia. are One or two more mineral projects like ZPMK would significantly change the state of the economy," says Jhanyan. For example, if Amulsar were operated now, could it be among the top ten taxpayers?
"Given the unprecedentedly high global gold prices, I think it could even be in the top three. Moreover, unlike many other sectors, the lion's share of taxes in the mining industry is royalties and profit tax," says the president of the Armenian Union of Miners and Metallurgists. There is a point of view that the Armenian mining industry has room for growth, but we are not taking advantage of it.
Vardan Jhanyan says that almost all the discussions at the recent Mining Armenia international forum were about this issue. "In addition, both Armenian specialists, academic circles, and foreign experts spoke about Armenia's significant potential. Yes, Armenia certainly has a significant potential and that potential should be used by attracting new investments, with new programs, by expanding existing programs."
In fact, it turns out that Azerbaijan, worried about this potential, started a campaign against Armenia, according to our interlocutor, not even a very large mining industry. "I'm sure, yes. The sector, yes, is not big, but even with these volumes it is one of the main pillars of Armenia's economy, and in addition, the potential for growth, and therefore also the potential for influence, is large, and that is the reason for such consistent attacks on Armenia's mining industry," says Vardan Jhanyan. More details in today's issue of the newspaper
