Tag Archives: Armenia

Russia’s Polymetal buys second gold mine in Armenia

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) — Russian miner Polymetal bought the Kapan gold mine in Armenia from Canada’s Dundee Precious Metals, in a move that consolidates and expands its Armenian assets.

The deal, worth up to $50m, is Polymetal’s second acquisition in Armenia, after it bought the Lichkvaz gold mine last year for $13.2m.

Kapan, a medium-sized mine, located around 300km south of Yerevan, is surrounded by other gold reserves. Lichkvaz is 70km away from Kapan. According to the latest survey, it holds 16m tonnes of ore. Polymetal wants to make it a processing centre for its operations in Armenia.

“We believe Polymetal can transform Kapan from a low-margin asset into a capital-light profitable regional processing hub with sizable production” said Vitaly Nesis, Polymetal CEO.

Analysts agreed that the deal would bring major benefits to Polymetal’s Armenia operations.

“Polymetal bought Kapan to enable synergies with Lichkvaz. I think Polymetal will focus on developing these two mines first (before looking at others),” said Anna Mulholland, director of equity research for European metals at Deutsche Bank.

Dundee will receive $10m in cash and $15m in shares from Polymetal. Dundee is also entitled to receive a 2% royalty, capped at $25m.

Kapan produced 410,000 tonnes of ore in 2015, a 2% increase compared to 2014. Last year, Dundee said production at Kapan could rise to around 1m tonnes per year.

Polymetal’s operations are mostly concentrated in Russia. In May 2014, Polymetal bought the Kyzyl gold mine in Kazakhstan from Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of President Nursultan Nazarbayev for $619m.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

New low- cost carrier to fly in Armenia

MARCH 2 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenia, a new low cost airline, will start flying in April, pending the approval of Armenia’s aviation committee. The owners of Georgia’s low cost airline Georgian Airways, Tamaz Gaiashvili and Robert Oganesian, own 49% of Armenia, while Ashot Torosyan, an Armenian businessman, owns 51% of the company. Armenia’s aviation sector has been in flux since Air Armenia was declared bankrupt in 2014.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Armenia fines Coca Cola

FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – An Armenian government agency slapped a 50m dram ($102,000) fine on Coca Cola Hellenic Bottling Armenia for unfair competition. Armenia’s State Commission for Protection of Economic Competition found Coca Cola Hellenic guilty of “creating barriers to entry of competitors into the market.”

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Market stall holders in Armenian capital protest

FEB. 26 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Stall owners in Yerevan’s largest clothing market scuffled with police during a protest against what they say are unfair rents they are having to pay in worsening economic conditions.

Armenia is prone to street demonstrations which can often be drawn out and rattle governments. Last year protests over a proposed increase in electricity prices lasted weeks and eventually forced the government to backtrack.

And, just like its neighbours, Armenia’s economy has been worsening over the past 18 months. Remittances have fallen, GDP growth is low and shopkeepers have said that trade has collapsed.

Now frayed nerves appear to be morphing into street demonstrations once again.

Official data has shown that trade in Armenia in 2015 was down by nearly 60% on the previous year, media reported. Stall owners at the Malatia market on the western edge of the city appear to agree. Hundreds stopped work to join the protest that blocked a road.

“We are not slaves. Enough is enough,” RFE/RL quoted one stall owner as saying.

They wanted the rent on the stalls to be lowered by 30%, a figure that the market’s owner has said was impossible to hit.

The demonstration’s leaders have said that they will not pay rent in March unless the price is dropped, setting the scene for another show- down next month.

Police detained three people at the demonstration.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Armenia’s President appoints new energy minister

MARCH 1 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Armenian president Serzh Sargsyan appointed Levon Yolyan as his new energy minister. Mr Yolyan, who had been deputy head of the Control Chamber which holds various government agencies to account, replaces Yervand Zakharyan.

ENDS

(News report from Issue No. 270, published on March 4 2016)

Armenia receives arms loan

FEB. 19 2016 (The Conway Bulletin) – Russia has agreed to give Armenia a $200m loan to buy weapons from Russian arms manufacturers, media reported. Under the terms of the deal, Armenia will use the loan to pay for Smerch rocket launchers, Igla-S air-defense systems, radar-jamming systems, sniper rifles, and armoured vehicles. Armenia will pay for 10% of the weapons, while Russia’s credit would cover the rest. Armenia is still at war over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The day after the deal was signed, Azerbaijan said that it had made a formal complaint to Russia that its arms deal with Armenia would upset the delicate military equilibrium in the region.

ENDS