Estonian businessman Marcel Vichmann has set up FIT Armenia, a company that plans to explore and mine gold and copper in Armenia.

Vichmann started the gold mining project in Armenia after GILD Arbitrage, an investment fund that had invested hundreds of millions of kroons placed by some of Estonia’s richest businessmen in Armenia in 2007 and 2008.

The investment fund had gold exploration rights for seven properties, but soon went bankrupt when it could not meet its investors’ demands.

Vichmann now owns three of the seven licenses and has reportedly invested additional amounts in the exploration.

The businessman did not wish to comment on the project saying that it wasn’t a public matter.

 In 2010 the financial newspaper Äripäev ranked Vichmann Estonia’s 12th richest businessmen with assets worth some 1.24 billion kroons. He has extensive real estate holdings, owns rail passenger and bus transport companies, and industrial enterprises.