Academician V. Babazadeh: Armenia Could Concede One of Gold Deposits as Indemnity

Baku / 10.12.20 / Turan: After the liberation from the occupation of the Kelbajar region, the Azerbaijani army entered the territory of the Soyudlu gold deposit, which was illegally exploited by Armenia for 27 years. Currently, gold mining is suspended and negotiations are underway on the future fate of the deposit, in particular, on the demarcation of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, the Soviet outlines of which affected the deposit.

Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, head of the Department of Mineral Resources of Baku State University, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Professor Vasif Babazadeh, in an interview with Turan, expressed his point of view on the prospects and forecasts for gold deposits in the liberated territories.

- Vasif Muallim, do Azerbaijani geologists have accurate data on the reserves of precious metals in the deposits located in the liberated territories?

- Firstly, it should be noted that among the strategic minerals that ensure the economic and defense security of Azerbaijan, in addition to oil and gas, undoubtedly include metals such as gold and copper. The latter have been in demand on world markets for a long time.

The Zod deposit covers the upper reaches of the western watershed tributaries of the Tartar River and is located in the central part of the Lesser Caucasus, south of the junction of the Shahdag and Murovdag ridges (Mount Greater Ginaldag). The total area occupied by the ore field is 30-35 sq. km. The deposit area is bordered by Armenia from the north and northwest. At the Zod-Soyudlu deposit in the Kelbajar region, based on estimates of industrial reserves, the volume of gold was 150 tons. Metric gold standard is high - 840-953 parts by weight.

As for the Vezhnali deposit, located in the Zangilan region on an area of ​​18 sq / km, it is morphologically represented by 27 gold vein zones. The length of these zones can be traced up to 900 meters or more. The density of habitation zones is from 5-10 to 20-30 meters. Gold fineness is 830-910. The total reserves of the deposit are about 7 tons.

It should be noted that insufficiently studied gold-bearing copper-pyrite occurrences are also located in the area of ​​the Vezhnali ore field, which, with more in-depth study, can also turn into promising gold ore objects.

Speaking about the gold deposits of the Kelbajar region, it is necessary to name two more objects located in the upper reaches of the Tutkhun river - these are Agduzdag and Tutkhun, located near the village of Zulfugarly.

There is also a large number of gold occurrences in the Lachin region. We have combined all these manifestations under the general name of the Lachin-Bashlybel ore zone. These include Shahkerem, Lalabagirli, Garabeyli, Ferej, and Mykhtoken.

It should be noted that in copper-gold deposits, copper reserves are usually 2-3 times more than gold reserves in a particular deposit.

- When were these deposits discovered?

- The Zod-Soyudlu deposit was discovered in 1951 and is considered the largest gold deposit in the Caucasus.

The Vezhnali field in the Zangilan region was discovered in 1959 by Azerbaijani geologists Arif Abdullayev and Vasif Khalilzadeh. At that time, my colleagues and I, being scientific consultants of the then existing Azergizil company, suggested the former State Planning Committee to build a gold processing plant on the basis of these deposits. The Armenians built a small factory in these territories after the occupation.

In Karabakh, another important deposit is the Gizilbulag gold-copper deposit (the old name is Drmbon). It is located 35 km from the regional center of Agdere, on the right bank of the Sarsang reservoir. From 1965 to the end of the 1980s, prospecting and reconnaissance work was carried out there. From there, along with gold, copper and silver can be mined. This deposit has not been fully explored. At that time, two technological samples were taken - 300-350 kg for technological tests. There are 26-30 tons of gold reserves alone, plus two to three times more copper reserves.

- Is there any information about whether the Armenians were able to use the Gyzylbulag deposit, if, as you say, it was not fully explored?

- An interesting fact is that over the years the Armenians have exploited only those deposits that were prepared for work on our part before the occupation. In other words, the Armenians enjoyed the benefits of the deposits that were discovered thanks to the work of dozens of Azerbaijani geologists. But they did not exploit Gyzylbulag. Here, in my opinion, there may be two reasons - either they were not able to simultaneously exploit all the fields, or they were so sure that all these territories would remain with them forever that they left it for later.

- Now, after the liberation of the territories, is it possible to calculate the volumes of precious metals extracted from these deposits?

- Now, after the liberation of these territories, the Azerbaijani geologists are faced with the task of re-assessing the geological and economic prospects of mineral deposits, especially gold deposits.

Before the collapse of the USSR, in 1991, according to the administrative borders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, the reserves of the Zod-Soyudlu field were distributed between the two republics on the principle of 76% Azerbaijan and 24% Armenia. However, during the occupation, that is, for 27 years, the Armenians exploited part of the field, which is located on the territory of Azerbaijan. Since 1967, the field has been exploited by Armenia in an open pit way. It should be noted that back in Soviet times, the Armenians mined gold from a part of the deposit, which was on the territory of Azerbaijan, by mining. We have no data on the amount of gold mined between 1967 and 1976. But, in 1977-1989, about 27 tons of gold were mined from the deposit. There is no data on the volume of gold mined from the deposit for the last 27 years that it was under occupation. We can only state a fact based on filming from space. Over the years, the Armenians, in their usual manner, have cruelly exploited the part of the field that was on the Azerbaijani side.

From a scientific point of view, it is possible to calculate the volume of exploitation of the fields of Azerbaijan by Armenians. Based on the data we have about the total reserves of gold and copper in these deposits, it is possible to conduct research on the reserves remaining there. Thus, the amount of illegal exploitation can be calculated.

The damage to the ecology of Azerbaijan, in particular to the forest, should also be calculated. To do this, one can compare the level of furniture production in Armenia before and during the occupation. It is clear that the increase in production will necessarily be associated with the level of illegal use of the forests in Azerbaijan.

- How can Azerbaijan get indemnity from Armenia for illegal exploitation of fields?

- Armenia must pay an indemnity for the destruction of our cities and villages, for the destruction of historical, cultural, religious monuments, for the destruction of forests, for the illegal use of deposits. President Ilham Aliyev has already announced that international experts will be invited to assess the amount of damage. The government has big plans in this regard.

The question arises as to how Armenia will be able to pay compensation to Azerbaijan, while today it has $ 8 billion in external debt. I believe that you can get compensation in the form of goods. So, on the territory of Zangezur (Syunik) region of Armenia there are copper and molybdenum deposits. The largest and most important among them is the Gajaran field. Copper reserves in this deposit are approximately 4.5 million tons. There is also a deposit Agarak, Destekert and other copper-molybdenum objects, from which ores can be extracted copper, molybdenum, rhenium and other rare elements. I believe that Armenia could transfer to Azerbaijan these valuable metals mined in these deposits as an indemnity, or transfer one of these deposits for exploitation for a certain period of time. –71B-