Saturday, July 7 2018 15:16

ArmInfo.The Amulsar issue is painful for Armenia, as it concerns the protection of the environment. This was announced by Armenian President Armen Sarkissian on July 7 at the 3rd youth forum on the topic "Security and Foreign Policy" of the  Armenian Institute for International Affairs and Security Issues.

He noted that the most urgent issue in the operation of the Amulsar  deposit is the provision of water quality in the Vayots Dzor region.  "But the problem is not only in Amulsar, in fact Amulsar is a symbol  of all environmental problems, I believe that the Prime Minister is  right that all problems should be discussed very carefully and given  a solution." We cannot allow the mining industry to cause damage our  main natural resource - water, "Sargsyan said.  Commenting on the  rumors about his connection with the Lidian company, Sarkissian  assured that 5-6 years ago he was offered to become an independent  member of the Board of Directors of the company.  "Independent means  that I and my family members did not have the right to pursue any  financial interests." After 3 months I left this post, "the president  assured.

Concerning his general position towards industrial progress, Armen  Sarkissian stated that only those enterprises that do not cause or  cause minimal damage to the environment should work.  To note,  recently, environmental protest actions against the exploitation of  the Amulsar deposit have intensified. The organizers of the actions  believe that this will cause irreparable damage to the environment of  Vayots Dzor. The company "Lidian", by contrast, claims that the  Amulsar deposit will be operated in accordance with the most  stringent environmental standards. Let us recall that Lydian Armenia  is a subsidiary of the British Lydian International, whose  shareholders are also large international institutional investors  from the United States, Great Britain and a number of European  countries, including IFC and EBRD. The Amulsar project is the largest  industrial project in Armenia for the development of the Amulsar gold  deposit at a total cost of $ 370 million. In August 2016, a project  for the construction and development of the field was launched.  Preliminary work has been carried out since 2006. The life of the  Amulsar deposit will be 10 years and 4 months, an annual average of  200,000 ounces of gold (about 10 million tons of ore) is planned. The  company's shares are quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar  deposit is the second largest in Armenia.