ArmInfo. The information that purple cloves are found on the territory of the mine "Amulsar" is true, however, these carnations are not listed in the Red Book. The doctor of biological sciences, the academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, the co-author of the "Red Book of Armenia" Georgy Fayvush stated this in a conversation with the correspondent of ArmInfo.
The scientist noticed that purple cloves, besides Amulsar, are also found in Tavush, Syunik and other regions of Armenia. "I would like to note that in this case it was a blue carnation, which is really a plant included in the Red Book." To determine whether this plant is on the territory of the Amulsar mine, the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia created a professional working group. conducted a study and found that there is no such plant on the territory of the mine, so that information on the fact that this species of carnation, which is included in the Red Book, grows on the territory of the mine and that something threatens it, does not correspond "says Faivush.
The scientist also noted: "As for the butterfly Apollo, although it is noted, but the place of the mine is not its habitat, it is not conducive to dampness, and the absence of a place for laying," Faivush said.
It should be reminded that earlier the inspection body for the protection of nature and subsoil in connection with the emergence of new environmental factors demanded from Lidian Armenia to stop all work on the development of the Amulsar deposit before a new examination and decision on the basis of this examination. The basis for such a decision was the presentation by the ecologist Anoush Nersisyan of the facts that allegedly testify to the presence in the Red Book of butterflies of Apollo and blue carnations in the region of Amulsar. Simultaneously, based on the submitted data, the Prosecutor General's Office of Armenia instituted criminal proceedings on the fact of illegal mine workings. Note that the absence of blue carnations on the territory of the mine was also reported by the Minister of Nature Protection. In this regard, the Minister noted that the inspection acted within its authority. He recalled that Lidian Armenia itself, which is developing the Amulsar deposit, repeatedly carried out its studies to assess the impact on the environment. The company employs a group of experts of 5-6 people, whose professionalism can not be doubted. Erik Grigoryan also reported that at present a draft law on environmental impact assessment has been developed and submitted to the government of the republic, according to which mining companies at their own expense, at the request of the state, undertake to invite international experts to assess the impact of a program on the environment.
He also said that, at the invitation of the Armenian government on September 17, another group of international experts will arrive in Armenia, which will assess the impact of a number of programs on water resources. At the same time, the Minister stated that it is not necessary to talk about the impact of Amulsar on the water resources of Vayots Dzor region of Armenia at present, since the mine is not yet in operation.
Recall that Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British Lydian International, whose shareholders are large international institutional investors. 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 was launched that assumes the construction and development of the field. 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. Within the framework of the Amulsar program, 1,300 jobs will be created in the construction process (construction works will last about 2 years) and 650-700 jobs throughout the entire operation of the field. The company's shares are quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar deposit is the second largest in Armenia