BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 17. The names of foreign companies engaged in illegal exploitation of the Soyudlu (Kalbajar), Vezhnali (Zangilan), Damirli (Karabakh), and Gizilbulagh (Karabakh) deposits during the occupation of Azerbaijani territories have been revealed, Trend reports.
Chairman of the Geological Exploration Agency Ali Aliyev, during a media briefing, has revealed these companies:
- Canadian Sterlite Gold Ltd. and First Dynasty Mines Ltd.;
- Swiss Base Metals and Vallex Group of companies;
- Russian Geopro Mining Gold Company;
- Armenian Copper Programme (cooperated with Swedish and Liechtenstein entrepreneurs)
- the US Global Gold;
- Indian Vedanta Resources.
At the same time, the Chairman of the Board of the Geological Exploration Agency Ali Aliyev noted that an appeal to international organizations has been prepared regarding the illegal use of deposits in the liberated territories.
Meanwhile, previously, following the talks with the Russian peacekeepers' command on December 3 and 7, 2022, a group of experts from the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, the State Property Service under the Ministry of Economy, and AzerGold CJSC were going to begin preliminary monitoring of the illicit mineral resource exploitation, as well as emerging environmental implications on Azerbaijani lands, where the Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, on December 10, 2022.
The expert team was expected to inspect the environmental condition at the 'Gizilbulagh' gold deposit and the 'Damirli' copper-molybdenum deposit, monitor various areas, organize cadastral property records, assess potential risks and threats to the environment, as well as to underground and surface water sources.
However, when arriving in the monitoring area, the expert group, accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, faced provocations. The planned initial inspection and monitoring did not take place due to the fact that the Russian peacekeepers not only did not create necessary conditions and prevented for the entire process to carry on.
The protest on the Lachin-Khankendi road against the illicit exploitation of Azerbaijan's mineral resources in the area of Russian peacekeepers' temporary deployment has been going on for over a month already.