In 2014, Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine will increase by 20 percent—and up to 19.5 million tons—the volume of ore processing, Combine Director Maksim Hakobyan told Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“In 2013, we have recorded noticeable increase, as compared to 2012,” Hakobyan stated.    

He informed that, in addition to the two ore mills, which were brought from the US, the third will be installed in the fourth quarter of this year.   

In the combine director’s words, the average composition of the ore at Kajaran Mine comprises 0.25 percent copper and 0.033 percent molybdenum.  

In 2011, the combine processed 15 million tons of ore, and it plans to process up to 25 million tons each year.

But some experts have expressed their concern by the extremely fast pace of extraction. About 7 to 8 million tons of ore were extracted annually in Soviet times.