There is a lot of bureaucracy on the way to conducting mining activities in Armenia. Dennis Moore, president of Canadian mining company Hayasa Metals, on Saturday stated this during the Mining Armenia Forum 2026 in Tsaghkadzor, Armenia.
Moore called on Armenia to reform the sector, taking into account that the country is fighting for every dollar directed towards the mining industry.
According to Moore, there are domains that require not only reforms, but also the Armenian state’s attention, investments, and time.
At the same time, there are cases when local communities are too strict in not issuing permits for mining activities, Moore noted. He said that there was a case when their company had to wait two years to receive a license, while emphasizing that the requirements for geological exploration and mine exploitation are quite high-quality and strict. Moore considered it appropriate to issue a license for a period of five years, with the possibility of extending it for another four years.
Also, Moore pointed to the mandatory requirement to have a bank account in Armenia, which, according to him, also creates additional complications. The head of Hayasa Metals stressed the importance of the possibility of conducting transactions remotely. Nevertheless, there are many positive trends in Armenia in terms of development prospects, he concluded.
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.