YEREVAN, December 22. /ARKA/. Russian VTB Bank provided $283 million for construction of a mining and concentration plant in Teghut of Armenia, the press office of VTB Bank (Armenia) reported.

The total cost of the project is about $350 million.

With support from VTB Bank open joint stock company, the Vallex Group is implementing one of the biggest economic projects in Armenia, i.e. construction and maintenance of Teghut copper and molybdenum deposit, says the report.

The official plant commissioning ceremony held on Saturday December 20 was attended by Armenia’s president Serzh Sargsyan, vice-premier and minister of global integration and reforms Vache Gabrielyan, governor of Lori province Artur Nalbandyan, general director of Bank VTB (Armenia) Yury Gusev, as well as foreign diplomats. The guests have been to the mine premises and the workshops.

Average indicator targets for the next ten years suggest a total of about 64,000 tons of copper concentrate containing 31% cooper (19,700 tons) and 760 tons of molybdenum concentrate containing 50% molybdenum (380 tons) will be produced at the plant every year.

The report claims Teghut company carries out its operations in line with the international environmental standards.

Industrial water will be circulating in a plant-tail facilities closed cycle to eliminate any discharge to the environment, says the report. Modern biological treatment plants are installed in the territory to prevent wastewater discharges into the river.

According to the program approved by Armenia’s ministries of environment and agriculture, Teghut company plants forests in area that is the double of what has been deforested for the project purposes.

“We are happy that VTB can help set up an enterprise in Armenia like Teghut mining and concentration plant”, first vice-president of VTB Bank Yury Soloviov said.

Soloviov said state-of-the-art biological treatment plants are used in the territory of the complex to prevent pollution of nearby lakes and rivers.

Apart from this, he said, the company takes care about reforestation.

VTB is always prepared to cooperate with companies that develop the regional economy and have proper attitudes toward environmental issues at the same time, Soloviov said.

VTB Bank is a systemic financial organization, the key member of VTB Group and one of the biggest Russian banks. Its main clients are companies and financial institutions, including public agencies and enterprises. Today VTB Group includes over 30 banks and financial companies operating in more than 20 countries of the CIS, Europe, Asia and Africa.

VTB Bank (Armenia) is owned fully by Russian VTB Bank. It runs 67 branches in Armenia, more than any other local bank. –0--