At a Yerevan press conference, Armenian Greens Union President Hakob Sanasaryan called on the government to draft a correct list of the tailings dams, both operating and shut down, that exist in the country.

Sanasaryan argued that his figures do not correspond to those presented by Armenia’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources.

He gave the example of the Toukhmanuk gold and silver mine operated by Global Gold Corporation in Armenia’s Aragatzotn Province.

According to Ministry figures, the company extracted and processed 86,042 tons of ore between 2006 and 2012.

Sanasaryan then noted the figures supplied by industry analyst Bill Mavridis, stating that the company presented a figure of 176,004 tons at the New York stock exchange.

The Greens Union President said that clarifying the actual tonnage would go a long way in approximating the amounts of toxic mining waste of the company’s two tailings dams along the Gedik River.