Armenia, based on territorial restrictions, should not engage in massive geological exploration. Haller Lomax partner and Kazakhstani attorney Timur Odilov, on Friday stated this, speaking at the Mining Armenia Forum 2026.

Odilov noted that leading jurisdictions operate a block system for issuing geological exploration licenses, the given country is divided into blocks, and licenses are issued for specific blocks. Such a system is used in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Kazakhstan.

However, according to him, the essential difference between Kazakhstan and Armenia is the size of their territories. The vast territory of Kazakhstan enables massive geological exploration and even makes certain speculative models possible.

Odilov explained that some companies get a license, invest a few thousand dollars, and then put it on the market so that a larger company can take the site. That's the end of their work.

"Some people don't like it that he didn't do anything, but in fact that's his main task in this chain," he noted.

But in Armenia, based on its territorial restrictions, Odilov advised not to engage in mass geological exploration. Instead, in his opinion, it is necessary to attract qualified junior companies, for which a very strict selection should be built.

Odilov emphasized that large companies are important due to their experience, but qualified junior companies are also of great importance, as they are the ones who are engaged in the search and discovery of deposits.

"They are the explorers and will open mines," he said.

At the same time, according to the lawyer, it is necessary to ensure discipline in the circulation of licenses. If a junior company receives a license, works for several years, but does not find anything, the mechanism for returning the block should be immediately activated so that it can be provided to another applicant. Odilov noted that in Kazakhstan this mechanism has only been fully regulated now—eight years later—and it has begun to bear fruit. According to him, similar mechanisms also operate in some other countries.

He focused separately on the procedure for issuing licenses in Armenia. As per the attorney, he studied the country’s law in that regard, but the “first come, first served” mechanism is not clearly defined in it.

“And this is one of the most opaque, non-transparent mechanisms,” Odilov stated.

He noted that in Kazakhstan, Australia, and Canada, the relevant procedures are clearly defined. In Uzbekistan, they also tried to introduce a mechanism based on the Kazakh model, but they did not detail it there, and it was not implemented.

The co-organizers of Mining Armenia Forum 2026 are the Mining Forum Development Foundation and the Armenian Mining and Metallurgy Association. The strategic sponsors of the forum, which is being held for the third time, are the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine and the Lydian Armenia company, and the main sponsors are Ameriabank and Teghout CJSC.