The government on Wednesday, January 5 transferred the rights of 15% of Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine CJSC to the management of the Armenian National Interests Fund.

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said the state has a share in the Zangezur Combine and weighed in on criticism concerning possible corruption risks․

"This deal seemed dubious to many but the fact that the state has been deprived of its main strategic asset for many years was in fact not dubious," Pashinyan said, noting that the government will have a representative in ZCMC, Aysor.am reports.

In early October 2021, GeoProMining Armenia, a subsidiary of the Cyprus-registered Russian company GeoProMining, was revealed to be the new shareholder of the Zangezur Copper and Molybdenum Combine in the province of Syunik.

GeoProMining Armenia is the parent company of Industrial Company, which bought 60% of the ZCMC's shares on September 30, 2021 and donated 25% of it – 15% of the total capital – to the government.