According to a coalition of civic and environmental groups, the Armenian government...postponed public hearings on uranium mining in Syunik Marz...indefinitely. On February 6, 2008, the Municipal Councils of the communities of Kajaran and Lernadzor in Syunik signed a memorandum of cooperation with the RoA Ministry of the Environment and the “Rosatom” Russian Atomic Energy State Agency regarding geological exploration, mining and reprocessing of uranium in the region...[A] company called the “Armenian-Russian Mining Organization” was...granted the...rights to conduct geological surveys for uranium mining...Such exploratory work is currently underway in the community of Lernadzor. A number of civic groups in Kapan have voiced their strong opposition to the entire uranium mining process and a petition drive has been launched locally to halt the process.