Armenia – April 5 2023
John Harker is a leading international expert on responsible mining and multi-stakeholder processes. He was the President and Vice Chancellor of Cape Breton University in Canada. In 1999/2000 he was asked by the Government of Canada to review whether the presence and conduct of the country’s then largest oil company was exacerbating the Sudanese civil war. Dr Harker previously worked for the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and advised President Nelson Mandela on the creation of a National Development Agency in South Africa.
I can’t stop thinking about an article recently written by a former Danish Prime Minister, Anders Fogh Rasmussen; it stated that “Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan are rising again, raising the prospect of another war.” He had just visited the Lachin corridor, finding it still blocked, under the visible pretext of an “environmental protest” but an action clearly backed by the regime in Baku for “political” reasons. Sincere environmental protests are often necessary, and always need to be absolutely based on best evidence, particularly when and where mining is potentially vital to a country’s future. Armenia’s future is unsettled by Azerbaijan’s assaults, and when these were in full play, I dared to suggest that a vigorous, Responsible, mining sector would be a serious asset for an Armenia facing external danger; I want to make a few observations along this line as I have on my mind Rasmussen’s comments about the Lachin corridor blockade.
A professor at Britain’s Oxford University, Timothy Garton Ash, who specializes in European studies, recently wrote about Russian money moving out of reach of “Western” Sanctions, and part of his piece related to Armenia. He asserted that it has traditionally run a large structural current account deficit for much of the past 30 years, but ran a current account surplus in 2022, and this allowed the central bank to increase foreign exchange reserves by close to one-third, or one billion US dollars.
Well, Armenia must by now know that not only is it situated in a volatile and dangerous region, it needs to make every effort to bolster its economy and society in order to fashion and maintain a future in that region, hopefully as one which can, with luck and effort, be helped to live at peace with itself. A challenge, but efforts towards it would likely contribute good things along the way.
One good thing, I am convinced, is the recently announced prospect of the Amulsar mine re-opening, but it remains my hope that this will not be simply a return to earlier practices but will see serious uptake of changes which were being identified and embraced before closure was imposed. These changes grew out of passions, protest, and best-practice, clearly favoured by Lydian’s key staffers; Participatory Water Monitoring is an example. More and more good practices like this are being taken up by global mining, yes, sometimes as an embrace of “Greenwashing” but undeniably on a real and beneficial basis by most serious entities. Particularly those who see their enterprise as a key element of the global economy.
Centuries ago, it was the King of Lydia’s initial embrace of GOLD as currency which set in motion the emergence of a “global economy”. And in these Covid years, we have come to appreciate that COPPER is much more than pots and pans, or wires to conduct electricity. It is now being understood as a vital mineral in coping with Covid or other (and future?) Zoonotic diseases, and is absolutely essential to the Transition to Net Zero we hear so much about. Words, yes, but what about Deeds?
I can’t help thinking that Armenia might actually stand on the brink of a real opportunity, for itself and for its region, if it enables, encourages, Gold and Copper mining and processing to develop Responsibly and impact strongly on Armenia’s future.
I know that Diaspora figures such as Ruben Vardanyan and Noubar Afeyan have stimulated thoughts about this future, including impacts on Education, and on Work. These efforts must certainly be encouraged, but in addition, Armenia’s mining companies, faced with present difficulties and aware of future prospects, should be seen as critical to Armenia’s future and the journey to be made towards it.
There is need here for a Great Leap forward, to use a Chinese phrase. For example, across the globe, there are leaders, in government, in companies, and on the streets, who have taken strides on the matter of Women in Mining. This cannot be allowed to flourish as a mere box to be ticked in an effort to “satisfy” investors who want to “feel good”. It is essential in fact, if companies are to achieve and maintain Sustainability, especially the Licence to Operate. Likewise other aspects of “ESG”, the matter of the impacts of company activity on environmental, social, and governmental realities, which are all too often vulnerable. Embracing “ESG” must not be seen as Risk Management, but as the commitment to “stakeholder involvement” in the search for the overall best ways forward.
And “stakeholders” include citizens, and the better educated are these citizens, the better they can judge situations, propose change, and improve their homeland.
Around the world, Responsible Miners are taking up use of new technologies, and realizing that there are Skills to be learned, workers to be taught. In one country this led to a major development. Australia undertook to revamp its Mining Apprenticeship Training, looking to all the new technologies which were appearing and had to be embraced. There is much to be learned from this exercise.
But no-where was there any focus on ESG or Inclusion so as to improve chances of deserved Sustainability. Armenia must not repeat this mistake, particularly as it needs Change just as it needs to maximize its resources to finance the Change. It can’t rely forever on being a home for Money escaping Sanctions, and must try for both change at home, and in the region it is part of.
And it has an advantage formerly unforeseen. This is the partnership it is building with Masdar, a powerhouse with an unparalleled record in promoting Solar power and the skills which this phenomenon has necessitated.
My first awareness of it was when I visited, in Abu Dhabi, the Masdar Institute, a solar-powered high-tech university research institute. Now, many years later, the Institute has been re-named as the Mohamed Ben Zayed University for Artificial Intelligence. Potentially a great partner for the universities of Armenia, which should be encouraged to be a strong part of Armenia’s future, as should the builders of a strengthened Armenia economy when the country needs this so badly.
If Armenia could make something important of Gold and Copper Mining being re-energized to help Armenia both become a great place for its people and to be seen as central to a much better region, the future would see less of “blockades”, be they of the Lachin corridor or the gates of Amulsar. Or, according to press reports during the heaviest assaults from Azerbaijan, of the gates of reserve Army barracks in Armenia when reinforcements sere needed at the Front.
Not long after my first visit to Armenia, I was stimulated by stopping at a fourteenth-century caravanserai near Amulsar! I had a coffee prepared by a “trader” in the back of his rusty Lada, and stood inside the ancient building where traders on the “Silk Road between China and Europe once rested for a night. It was undoubtedly the right place, at the right time.
And as I contemplate the issues confronting Humanity today, the matter of Armenia, its standing with Europe and Eurasia, and the Challenges facing Humanity, I think of the Armenians engaged in all of these, one way or another, and urge them to press on.
Their country needs it, but so do the rest of us.