[en] Mine tailings and accidents related to them are one of the most dangerours environmental problems all over the World. This problem is specially acute in small countries where mining industries are important, particularly mining of metallic ores. Armenia currently hosts about 400 mining operations, 22 of which are polymetallic. The total area occupied by mining factories accounts for 10000 hectares, 8000 of which comprise the exploited grounds and 1500 hectares correspond to the area underlying the tailing dams. Being Armenia a mountainous country with a small area, problems of occupation of space and soil and water pollution become particularly acute and urgent to be solved. In fact, there are more than 1 million tons of mining wastes in the Republic of Armenia already, located in the tailing dams of more than 20 enrichment tailings. The construction of new storage facilities, and consequently, the occupation of new territories appear regularly, and it becomes a serious, unsolvable problem since those areas used for tailings become unsuitable for further use. In this work, we edited and summarized the information about the enrichment tailing dams of the Republic of Armenia mining activities. From all existing tailings, 8 of them are already closed. Some of them were closed without being fully exhausted. One of the main reasons for this fact is that during their design, the amount of rainwater accumulation was not properly calculated and therefore tailings mothballed ahead of the planned time. Most of the Armenian tailings are located in the region of Syuniq, with 9 tailings, followed by the region of Lori with 8 tailings. From these, the biggest mining operations are Geghanush in Syuniq and Teghut in Lori. In this work, we used these two big tailings as representative of the general condition and risks of tailings in Armenia. Accordingly, we made laboratory (solid material and water composition) and social analysis for both tailings and we conclude that the high amount of hazardous heavy metals in these tailings spread to nearby territories and contaminate the soil, water and air, enter the food chain, and adversly affect the human health. At first glance, these problems seem unsolvable. Assessment of the environmental impact of tailings 6 However, correction measures must be implemented in order to reduce the pollution.

[gl] As escombreiras de minas e os accidentes realcionados con elas son un dos problemas ambientales mais perigosos que existen no mundo. A súa problemática é especialmente acusada naqueles países con importantes explotacións mineiras, particularmente con xacimentos metálicos. En Armenia, existen actualmente arredor de 400 explotacións mineiras, das que 22 son polimetálicas. A área total ocupada polas factorías mineiras é de 10000 hectáreas, das que 8000 son os xacimentos en sí, e 1500 hectáreas corresponden coa área ocupada polas escombreiras. Ó ser Armenia un país montañoso de área pequena, os problemas de ocupación de espazo e de contaminación de solos e augas derivados da minería son particularmente acuciantes e a súa solución é urxente. De feito, existe mais de un millón de toneladas de residuos da minería acumulados en mais de 20 escombreiras. A construcción de novas instalaciós de almacenaxe de residuos, e consecuentemente, a ocupación de novos terreos, é unha cuestión recurrente e pode ocasionar problemas graves e irreversibles, xa que as áreas ocupadas polas escombreiras non poden ser utilizadas para outros usos. No presente traballo, recopilouse e resumiuse a información dispoñible sobre as escombreiras que existen na República de Armenia. Destas escombreiras, 8 foron pechadas. Algunhas delas pecháronse sen terse henchido completamente. Unha das principales razón foi que no seu diseño non se contou coa acumulación de auga de chuvia, e polo tanto, as escombreiras enchéronse antes da data prevista. A meirande parte das escombreiras está na rexión de Syuniq, con 9 escombreiras, e Lori, con 8. Déstas, as explotacións mais grandes son Geghanush, en Syuniq, e Teghut, en Lori. No presente trabaallo, analizáronse estas dúas escombreiras como exemplos representativos da situación xeral destas acumulacións de residuos en Armenia. Fixéronse análises de laboratorio (material sólido e composición das augas) e análisis sociales das dúas escombreiras, e observouse que ambas presentan gran concentración de metales pesados, que se movilizan e afectan as áreas próximas, contaminando solos, augas e aire, penetrando nas cadenas tróficas, e afectando á Assessment of the environmental impact of tailings 10 saúde humana. Estes problemas parecen irresolubles, aínda que deben implementarse medidas correctoras para reducir a contaminación.