AV Mining LLC has applied for a permit to conduct exploratory work in Armenia’s Arijidzor mineral field.

The company wants to investigate the site’s reserves of gold, iron, nickel cobalt platinum and marble.

The site is located some twenty kilometers from the town of Stepanavan, on the banks of the Dzoraget River.

Katnaghbyur village Mayor Arthur Savtalyan, (part of the enlarged Stepanavan community), told Hetq that a public hearing on the matter took place a year ago and residents did not object to the company’s desire to carry out exploratory work since AV Mining promised them jobs.

Savtalyan said the area to be explored is comprised of state-owned property - pastures or other lands.

"I remember that geologists came and went to the area when I was young. They were faraway Alaverdi pastures that we didn’t use,” Savtalyan said.

AV Mining, registered in 2014, is fully owned by Artur Gevorgyan, a resident of Nor Geghi, a village in Armenia's Kotayk province.