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| Abedin Khorram |
The governor of East Azerbaijan province, Abidin Khorram, has criticized the lack of transparency in both the processing activities and financial operations of the province’s gold mines. The criticism was voiced during a meeting of the provincial planning and development council.
According to Fars News Agency, Governor Abidin Khorram emphasized the need to prevent the raw sale of minerals extracted from the province's mines.
For some time now, the raw sale of copper concentrate from the Sungun mine has been a topic of concern for the province’s deputies, as well as for the governor. The controversy surrounding the allocation of a portion of the mining revenues to the province had subsided after President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to the region and the issuance of a decree to establish the Azerbaijani Copper Company.
However, Azerbaijani national activists and citizens remain skeptical about the issue concerning the Azerbaijani Copper Company, with many believing that these promises will not be realized in practice. At the same time, some public activists believe that this step could be beneficial for the province.
In the most recent meeting, the governor raised the controversial issue of Azerbaijani mines once again, addressing the lack of financial transparency in the processing of gold mines near the Sungun copper mine.
According to Khorram, East Azerbaijan province is 40 years behind other provinces in terms of the mining industry.
In addition to the repeated issues such as preventing the raw sale of minerals and the creation of sub-industrial sectors, he raised the issue of the lack of financial transparency in the gold mines near the Sungun copper mine.
"The revenues from the Sungun copper mine are substantial, but there are several gold mines next to it, and neither their active circulation nor the processing and shipment locations of the minerals are known," Abidin Khorram said.
News agencies reporting on the governor’s statements did not provide further details on the matter. However, the agencies quoted Khorram as criticizing the destruction of rural and urban roads by active mines, stating that these mines should bear the costs of repairing and reconstructing the roads.
Many villagers have opposed the exploitation of mineral resources near their homes. The lack of local employment in the mines, as well as the environmental damage and destruction of roads in villages and cities, have been criticized and protested by citizens and activists.
Link to the original text in Turkish on the Azerbaijani section of Voice of America:
İranda Şərqi Azərbaycan vilayətinin rəhbəri qızıl mədənlərində qeyri-şəffaflığı tənqid edib