Azerbaijan Begins Blasting at Its Occupied Artsakh Section of Armenia’s Sotk Gold Mine

Azerbaijan has begun blasting operations at the Zod gold deposit along its border with Armenia and is considering construction of a new ore-processing complex, moving ahead with large-scale development of a mine that has been at the center of years of military tension and cross-border fire.

AzerGold, Azerbaijan’s state-owned mining company, said Sept. 7 that it carried out its first drilling and blasting operation at the deposit, known as Soyudlu in Azerbaijan and Sotk in Armenia.

The deposit straddles the internationally recognized border between Armenia’s Gegharkunik province and Karvachar, which came under Azerbaijani control following the 2020 44-day war.

Karvachar was controlled by Armenian forces from 1993 until 2020 and administered by the Republic of Artsakh as part of its Shahumyan region. The district was outside the boundaries of the Soviet-era Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast.

Under the Russian-brokered ceasefire agreement signed on Nov. 9, 2020, Armenian forces withdrew from Karvachar, and Azerbaijani forces entered the district on Nov. 25, bringing them directly to the interstate border running through the gold deposit.

Armenian officials said at the time that Soviet-era administrative boundaries placed portions of the deposit on both sides of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said one part of the mine was in Armenia and another in Azerbaijan.

Sotk Gold Mine

AzerGold is now developing the Azerbaijani section.

The company said it has conducted geological surveys, topographic mapping and 18,000 meters of drilling since August 2025. It estimates recoverable remaining reserves at 1.03 million ounces of gold under the Joint Ore Reserves Committee, or JORC, standard.

AzerGold is also studying plans for a modern flotation processing complex after tests showed the method would be required during the initial processing stage. A radar monitoring system has been installed because of geological instability and landslide risks at the mine.

The project currently employs 236 people, including contractors. AzerGold expects about 700 direct and indirect jobs to be created between 2026 and 2029, with employment eventually exceeding 1,300 once the mine reaches full production.

The expansion follows years of instability around the Armenian section of the same deposit.

Azerbaijani forces advanced into parts of Armenia’s Gegharkunik province during the border crisis that began in May 2021, according to Armenian authorities. Yerevan says Azerbaijani troops continue to hold sovereign Armenian territory following incursions in 2021 and further advances during fighting in September 2022.

The European Parliament has condemned Azerbaijani military operations inside Armenia and called for Azerbaijani forces to withdraw from Armenian territory.

Sotk was among the areas hit during the September 2022 escalation. Armenian authorities said Azerbaijani forces used artillery, mortars and drones against positions around Sotk and other communities along Armenia’s eastern and southeastern border. Homes and civilian infrastructure were damaged, and mining operations were disrupted.

Security problems at the mine had emerged months earlier. In May 2022, an employee was wounded when Azerbaijani forces opened fire toward the mining area, according to Armenian authorities. Workers were evacuated and operations were temporarily suspended.

Cross-border fire continued in 2023. GeoProMining, which operated the Armenian section, repeatedly evacuated employees because of gunfire near the mine. By spring 2023, the company said open-pit mining could no longer be carried out safely and suspended those operations, reportedly placing more than 700 employees on unpaid leave. Underground mining later continued.

Sotk again became the scene of deadly fighting on Sept. 1, 2023, when Armenia said Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian positions near Sotk and Norabak using small arms, mortars and drones. Three Armenian servicemen were killed and two others were wounded.

Mining on the two sides of the deposit has since followed sharply different paths. Operations on the Armenian side have repeatedly been disrupted by military tensions and gunfire, while Azerbaijan is preparing its section for expanded industrial production.

AzerGold describes Armenian exploitation of resources in Karvachar before 2020 as illegal mining conducted during what Azerbaijan considers the occupation of the district. Armenia has emphasized that the Zod/Sotk geological deposit crosses the internationally recognized state border.

AzerGold has not said its current mining operations extend into Armenian territory.

That distinction separates Azerbaijan’s control of its portion of the deposit following the 2020 war from the unresolved presence of Azerbaijani forces on internationally recognized Armenian territory following the 2021 and 2022 incursions.

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