Epress.am News from Armenia
As a result of mining in the southern Armenian province (marz) of Syunik, not only the province's agriculture, but also the health of its residents are endangered, reports local daily Zhoghovurd.
According to official data, there are 19 tailing dumps in Armenia, though environmentalists assert that there are, in fact, 30 tailing dumps and 450 active mines.
Greens' Union of Armenia NGO President Hakob Sanasaryan informed the newspaper if the mines continue to be exploited to the extent they are currently, in the near future (in 20–30 years), Syunik as a region will have no value — it simply won't be possible to live there.
"By the way, trailing dumps generating hazardous waste paid nothing into Armenia's budget last year for the damage they caused, which is recorded also in the RA Control Chamber's 2012 report," reports the paper.