A mining company with ties to the family of Gov. Chris Sununu is poised to gain financially after a brokered settlement of an armed conflict between the nations of Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The company, Anglo Asian Mining, is partially owned by former Gov. John H. Sununu, father of the current governor.
Anglo Asian has been mining gold, silver and copper in Azerbaijan since 2009.
The peace deal announced this week ends the Armenian-Azerbaijan conflict and clears the way for Anglo Asian to exercise rights to mine in Nagorno-Karabakh, the region under dispute which ethnic Armenians claimed as their own but was internationally recognized as a part of the nation of Azerbaijan.
Armenian groups were angered when Anglo Asian mining recently referenced the “liberation” of the disputed region where it enjoys mining rights.
In a statement published by the website Mining.com, Anglo Asian said it “complies with all international laws and with laws in the countries in which it operates.”
The company has also said it plans to mine in the disputed area only when the government of Azerbaijan confirms all hostilities have ended there.
The settlement has boosted the stock price of Anglo-Asian. Former Gov. Sununu, a director of the company, owns a 9 percent stake in it. That holding is now worth more than $16 million.
Read NHPR's earlier reporting on John H. Sununu's ties to the mine
Phone calls and emails to the office of the current Gov. Sununu were not returned Tuesday.
