The Administrative Court has rejected the claim of the Kapan Mining and Processing Plant (MPP) against the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate (EMI). This is one of the lawsuits against EMI, another is still under consideration.
Recall that based on a request from Hetq, EMI began an inspection at the Kapan MPP in August 2024. The purpose of the inspection was to determine the existence of a permit for open-pit mining at the Shahumyan gold-multimetallic deposit and the compliance of the company’s activities with the requirements of environmental and mining legislation.
However, the Kapan MPP claims that it has not conducted open-pit mining at the Shahumyan gold-multimetallic deposit (and therefore did not need a permit):
According to the MPP, underground voids were formed as a result of closed mining at the Shahumyan deposit back in the 1990s, which were quite close to the earth's surface, and subsequently, collapses occurred, as well as zones with a high risk of collapse were formed. “The company, in accordance with the established procedure of Armenian legislation, is carrying out agreed measures with the relevant state authorities for the restoration of the landscape and reclamation of collapsed areas, as well as for the prevention of collapses in collapse-risk zones,” the MPP had informed Hetq back in the summer of 2024.
Despite the MPP's assurances, EMI found during the inspection that the mining company had illegally extracted 2895 tons of ore, which contained 13.5 kg of gold, 251 kg of silver, 23 tons of copper, 153 tons of zinc, and 18 tons of lead. It was also recorded that the MPP had emitted 12.65 tons of inorganic dust without a permit for atmospheric emissions.
On December 26, 2024, EMI sent the inspection materials to the Investigative Committee for further proceedings. On January 15, 2025, a criminal case was initiated in the Investigative Committee:
After EMI's inspection in December 2024, the MPP filed two lawsuits against EMI in the Administrative Court:
One of the MPP's lawsuits was rejected; the company appealed the decision
One of them, filed by the company on December 13, requested to recognize the absence of legal grounds for conducting the inspection.
The court found that the actions of the responsible administrative body were aimed at protecting public interests, in particular, ensuring environmental safety and verifying the legality of the use of natural resources.
Thus, Judge Lilit Sadoyan concluded that there are no grounds for recognizing the absence of legal grounds for conducting the inspection, and on April 20, 2026, rejected the claim of the Kapan MPP against the Environmental and Mining Inspectorate.
The MPP has filed an appeal. The Appellate Administrative Court accepted the appeal for consideration on August 3 and decided to examine it in written proceedings:
