As the leader of Azerbaijan diaspora non-profit organization The US-Azerbaijan Center of Integration (USACI) in Houston, TX and a board member of Azerbaijanis Coordination Council in America (ACCA), we call Greenpeace top manager, Annie Leonard, and CEO of CRONIMET Holding GmbH, Mr. Jrgen Pilarsky, to stop the operation of Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC) CJSC in Armenia.

Even though Cronimet declares its commitment to the standards of quality, efficiency, safety and all other requirements, ZCMC (which has shares acquired by CRONIMET Mining AG) causes environmental terror polluting the Okchuchay river which plays a crucial role in providing water resources to irrigate the farming lands in Azerbaijan.

The Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine is one of the key industrial enterprises and the largest taxpayer in Armenia. The company operates the largest in the South Caucasus Kajaran Copper Molybdenum Combine a producer of the metals concentrates and is owned by the German Cronimet Holding company.

Members of Armenian institutions also recognize the ecological crimes in the Okhchuchay River. L.Margaryan, member of the Ecology Protection Safety Center at Yerevan University, confirmed the deterioration of the water quality due to a high content of molybdenum, iron, copper, zinc, chromium and other heavy metals. Environmental activist, B.Sargsyan, has noted that the Okhchuchay River was polluted along its entire length of 50 km. It is an unprecedented huge catastrophe with an enormous amount of pollution.

In October 2019, the Press Service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Armenia reported that hazardous waste from the Kajaran Copper Molybdenum Combine flowed into the Okchuchay river. Armenian officials have repeatedly said that the plant discharges massive hazardous waste. Although Cronimet, which operates in dozens of countries around the world, declares its commitment to quality, efficiency, and safety standards, Okhchuchay's situation proves so otherwise.

According to the monitoring carried out in January-March 2021, the content of nickel is 7 times, iron is 4 times, and copper-molybdenum compound is 2 times higher than the normal levels. In addition, ammonium is 1.3 times, manganese 3.6 times, and nickel 3.4 times more than the norm. The color of the Okhchuchay River has changed to a white or to an acid-yellow one. A mass trout mortality in the river was also recorded in March 2021.

The high content of heavy metals in the waters runs not only the fluvial fauna but is also extremely dangerous for human health. Usage of this contaminated water can bring detrimental consequences from the disorders of gastrointestinal tracts, destructive processes in kidneys and bone tissue up to the disorders of cardiovascular, nervous, and hematopoietic systems of the body.

It is a common fact that a major number of the salts from heavy metals enter the environment through an anthropogenic way mainly because of emissions from the extractive and processing enterprises. This gives reason to believe that the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (operating the Kajaran mine), as well as the Chaarat Kapan Company (the former Kapan Mining and Processing Combine), are not complying with the environmental standards, dumping their production wastes directly into the Okhchuchay River, without any preliminary treatment. A potential for the self-purification and self-regeneration of the Okhchuchay River is decreasing due to a high content of heavy metals in it and due to an increase of the water intake by the combine.

We once again express our regret on the issue mentioned above and call Media Organizations and Greenpeace not to turn a blind eye to environmental crime and to take appropriate measures in this regard.

Sincerely,

Samir Novruzov, President and Co-Founder

The US-Azerbaijan Center of Integration

PO BOX 149, Barker, TX, 77413