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Armenia is a mountainous country, and therefore rich in mineral resources such as iron, copper, molybdenum, lead, zinc, gold, silver, antimony, aluminium, as well as other scarce and hard-to-find metals. Iron and copper ore, especially, are exported in significant volume.
More than 670 solid mineral mines, including 30 metal mines, are currently registered in the state inventory of mineral resources. About 400 of these are exploited, including 22 metal mines: Seven copper-molybdenum mines, four copper mines (operated in the southern part of the country in Kadjaran, Dastakert and Agarak), 14 gold mines (operated in Sodq and Meghradzor) and gold-poly-metallic mines, two poly-metallic mines, two iron ore mines, and one aluminium mine.
Armenia’s territory is divided into three zones with metal deposits: Alaverdi-Kapan, Pambak-Zangezur and Sevan-Amasia. Armenia also possesses some of the world’s most diverse non-metallic minerals, including almost all types of mineral rocks. Other resources such as tuff, perlite, pumice-stone, zeolite, scoria, basalts, granites, nephelite syenite, and marble are widely used in construction.
Non-metallic mines for minerals such as quartzite, carbonate, zeolite, scoria and pumice-stone, clay, betonies, diatomite, and gypsum, also comprise a significant part of Armenia’s mining sector. Armenia is rich in mineral water as well. The cities of Jermuk, Dilijan, Bjni, Arzni, Hankavan, and Sevan are well known in the world for both the medicinal and organoleptic qualities of their waters.
