Azerbaijan exploring Vejnaly gold deposit

Azerbaijani Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev has said that there is a need to determine the boundaries of the forest fund lands, as well as the types of trees, tree age class and forest resources in the territories liberated from Armenia’s occupation.

Babayev made these remarks during public hearings on “Combating mine threat - the impact of explosive items on the ecosystem” in the Azerbaijani parliament, APA reports.

He noted that to date, the forest management process has been carried out on 19,000 hectares out of the total forest area in the Zangilan district by using remote sensing.

“Summarising the results of the forest management process and organising environmental protection measures, as well as management in these territories is of great importance. In some cases, we face a threat in mined fields. I would like to note one fact the territory of the Vejnaly gold deposit in the Zangilan district, was cleared of mines. The research and preparatory work was launched there. However, unexploded ordnance again poses a danger. In this regard, the Mine Action Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (ANAMA) is currently taking appropriate measures again in these territories,” he added.