Armenia's Trade and Economic Development Minister Karen Chshmaritian told reporters on Tuesday that agreement on this was reached during a working visit to Germany by the country's President Robert Kocharian last week.

Half of the remaining ZMMK stock (12.5%) will be transferred to Armenian Molybdenum Production (AMP), set up last year in Yerevan to process molybdenum; the other 12.5% goes to management company Zangezur Mining, created recently by the ZMMK workforce and administration.

Cronimet has said it is ready to credit AMP and Zangezur Mining to enable them to acquire the ZMMK stock, Chshmaritian said..

Armenian and German specialists are now in Germany working on a draft agreement expected to be coordinated with Deutsche Bank for the receipt of banking guarantees. Plans call for the document to be signed before December 5, Chshmaritian said.

How much Cronimet will be investing should become clear after a feasibility study is done sometime around next June.

Cronimet owns 48% of the stock in Yerevan's Chistoye Zhelezo (Pure Iron), which processes molybdenum concentrate produced by ZMMK.