YEREVAN. – 8,500 hectares, or close to 0.3 percent of Armenia’s total territory, is being exploited in the country for the mining industry, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Armen Movsisyan, stated during a press conference on Thursday.  

The extracted ores amounted to 20.2 million tons in 2011, and this is close to 10 percent more than the year past. The production of copper concentrate also increased by 10 percent; molybdenum, by 15 percent; polymetallic concentrate, by 9.2 percent; and zinc, likewise by 9.2 percent.      

Also, 1,266 kilograms of gold were produced, in Armenia, which surpasses last year’s indicator by 30 percent.

And in money terms, Armenia’s mining industry products total close to US$ 500 million, which is a 19.5-percent increase from the previous year.