Thursday, April 25, 2013

GBGD Blocking Participation of Public at Toukhmanuk Tailings Damn Hearing

On April 19, 2013 a public hearing was held at the Ministry of Nature Protection office in Yerevan, Armenia. The hearing was organized to review Global Gold Corporation's ("GBGD") application for a 3rd tailings damn at the Toukhmanuk Gold project in Armenia.

Some local residents and environmental NGOs are are demanding that the mine be shut down and are against the issuance for a permit to build a third tailings damn, claiming the local environment and farming land has been contaminated by GBGD's operations.

According to participants in the meeting and comments posted on various blogs and Facebook by participants, GBGD stacked the hearing room at the Ministry of Nature Protection with "mercenaries" to block the participation of independent environmental NGO's to present their case.

GBGD's tactics succeeded in as much that no decision was taken and a new hearing has been called in 20 days.

I guess by then a new Minister of Nature Protection may be appointed, as the new government of President Serzh Sargsyan forms his new cabinet, following his victorious election on February 18, 2013.

I have a posted a few items here below.

At the open site meliq VILLAGE Group on FACEBOOK and GLOBAL GOLD ( https://www.facebook.com/groups/335167233253849/ ) local Armenian citizens and NGOs are organizing to Stop, What they consider to be the abuse of Global Gold

Silva Adamyan States:

WE CONDEMN
Global Gold Company's obscene immoral behavior and arguments were manifested in the fact that on April 19 at the hearings held in the Ministry of Nature Protection they brought mercenaries insidiously to fill the professional speech and to hurt the experts with the purpose to implement their regular criminal project .
Over the years this company's activity is characterized in Armenia by the irreparable losses caused to the nature and people.
We require from the RA Government to stop this anti-Armenian activity and to investigate and evaluate the company's activities.

At


The conflict between the «Mego Gold» subsidiary company of American «Global Gold» company has a history of many years. The mine owner does his work and extracts the gold and Meliq village residents take it all default, when their rights have been violated for years. Some of the residents of that community had a work in the mine and they did not raise voice for monthly 60-80 thousand AMD trying to solve the problem of their daily bread. Though in those days the «cases» of «Global Gold» company hosting Meliq village are gradually heating up and face out of the water with the spring thawing Meliq villagers are going to do sowing, but in the fall they will be no better than before , and this as a result of «investments» by the company more than 10 years ago. As a result of our visits to Meliq village and various interviews, it turned out that the American company has not made any investments, but owned the «Tukhmanuk» Gold mine and abused under the pretense of creating jobs. As a result the people's rights in the Meliq village have been and are being violated and the company's management pursuing its unprecedented cynicism created an atmosphere of fear in the affected community.

During our meetings the villagers were ready to talk but without cameras and to claw the mask of the company with their discoveries. But this is not just the job of one or a few media, but also the job of the State and the appropriate services immediately to take steps and to clarify the situation. «Tukhmanuk» gold mine exploited by «Mego Gold» and the mine tailing dam which is in a bad condition are located on the slope on the 9-point seismic activity zone. Note that Spitak earthquake was felt in that area, where the union construction teams built separate district for the families who lost their homes in the disaster in 1988. «It is unacceptable to build another tailing dump in the same area, when the previous tailing was built on the land that was once part of our haying », said the one of the Meliq villagers. Note that Meliq villagers are mainly engaged in fruit growing, vegetable, fodder and grain processing, field-crop cultivation, as well as large and small cattle breeding and aviculture.

According to the specialists' opinion even any man-made or chemical affect will have its direct impact on the agriculture, human health and welfare and social conditions, as the main guarantee of the community social conditions is the agriculture and the provision of those regular works . No one can deny the fact that the soil fertility fell in the village, fields and pastures are in poor conditions, and vegetable crops turn yellow and dry out immediately. «Once the mine is being exploded, it seems that we are in a battle-field and as a result all the dust is coming upon us», said the villagers and insisted that the dust up warding through the winds from the mine and the tailing dam constantly sits on the land, is being mixed in the drinking and irrigation waters and the atmosphere thus threatening their health. «Have a walk in the village and see what's happening. Almost all have urinary problems (urinary stone disease) and all those are connected with the drinking water », insisted the villagers.
Galust Nanyan Village Meliq - Yerevan

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Published on March 16 on Yerkir.am, 2013   (http://www.yerkir.am/en/news/46612.htm)  
Melik Village: Abandoned and forgotten

On those days it is much spoken about the 7 years' destructive activities implemented in Melq village by the «Mego Gold» subsidiary company of American «Global Gold» company. Meliq village residents have expressed their concerns over several years that the company is only interested in its profits, and they have beenignored both by the government and the «Tukhmanuk» gold mine company officials. Soft pillow policy advocates argue in their documents and in their office in Yerevan, that they do ideal work, but Meliq villagers and environmentalists prove that the situation is alarming and the mine operating company works with the methodology of the 19 century pitmen. In other words, by exploding here and there they do harm not only to the environment, but also atmospheric and water basins, as well as land resources, agricultural lands and natural pastures. The American mine industrialists have already made great efforts for the Government top allow them to build a new and the third tailing dam with about 7 hectares, which is two times more than the 1st and the 2nd tailings altogether. According to the project the proposed tailings dam will be surrounded to the four sides by a ground wall. It turns out that the new tailings dam will be built in the place of the seismic zone of 9 magnitudes. Experts express concern on the fact that all the ecosystem of Meliq village will be shattered in case of accidents in the tailing dam with a ground wall. Two of the tailings have already been filled and are not subject to cultivation and to the villagers' opinions «Mego Gold» company is going to bring them into cultivation after having extorted the appropriate metal materials from the tailings. And with what kind of equipment and methods, the company responsible is still silent? But it is clear that the American company is interested only in gold, but not the other element accumulated in the tailing dams. The villagers told us that the ore dressing is being done a few hundred meters away from Meliq village, where on the oblique area the soil embankment tailing dam is located, which is in a very poor condition. As the agriculture is the main economy in the village, it can only be predicted that years later the village will appear under the threat of displacement, as the villager will not be able to grow food or agricultural crops in the area, where the mine has been exploited and the remains of the same mine have been accumulated. Who is responsible for the damages caused to the Meliq village residents?

No one gives an answer to this question. The village municipality insists that everything must be done in order «Mego Gold» company reduces to the minimum the damages caused to the environment and the public health. In its turn, «Mego gold» carries out an «ostrich» policy by saying that everything is «OK».

Galust Nanyan Village Meliq-Yerevan




About this Blog:  Between 2009 and 2012 I was an active investor in the mineral exploration sector in the Republic of Armenia.  Our main project in Armenia was the MARJAN polymetallic gold and silver project located in near Sissian.  My JV partner, Mr. Van Z. Krikorian, President of Global Gold Corp (otcqb: GBGD) and Trustee of the Armenian Assembly of America, used corrupt means including using his influence with the US EMBASSY in YEREVAN to secure an indictment against me for theft of the JV and to corrupt the Armenia judicial system to give him a favourable ruling.

Mr. Van Z. Krikorian is the President, CEO and Legal Counsel of Global Gold Corp. (otcqb:GBGD), a penny stock listed on the OTC  markets. His public filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission  fail to fully disclose the reality on the ground in Armenia in the promotion and development of GBGD's gold project, the TOUKHMANUK GOLD MINE.

This blog is an effort to bring transparency of the activities of Global God Corp. (otcqb: GBGD) and Mr. Van Z. Krikorian in Armenia.

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