Thursday, February 21 2019 14:27

ArmInfo.The Investigation Committee of Armenia will receive $ 396,000 from the Reserve Fund of the Government to conduct research in the area of the Amulsar field.  The decision was taken at the February 21 meeting of the RA government.

Presenting the draft decision, Minister of Finance of Armenia Atom  Janjughazyan noted that as part of the investigative actions,  measures are planned to assess the impact of the Amulsar field  development program on the region's environment. The matter, in  particular, concerns conducting environmental, economic,  hydrological, chemical and other studies. In order to conduct  research, a competition was held, in which three companies took part,  one of which the - "Ellat" company was selected. 

In turn, the head of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Hayk  Grigoryan said that usually 6-8 months is given to conduct this kind  of research. In order to solve the problem, it was decided to  accelerate this process, bringing it to 4 months. The winning company  undertakes to submit final data within 12-14 weeks.  Prior to that,  every 2-3 weeks the company will also inform the authorities and the  public about the work process. The company will present the first  interim report in May of the current year.

To recall, on February 18 "Lydian" company, which develops the  AMulsar deposit, warned that the Armenian government bears full  responsibility for the deterioration of the environment, water and  air in the Amulsar field in case any environmental problem occurs.   According to information of the press service of the company,  since  June 2018, Lydian, because of the blockade of roads, has not  been  able to resume work at the Amulsar field. Not only the construction  work was not carried out, but also the construction of  protective  environmental protection systems, in order to manage  erosion due to  heavy spring precipitation and surface water, in accordance with the  conditions and permits issued to the company.  Lydian informed the  government that the company was not responsible  for any  environmental problems, including the exclusion of surface  waters,  the occurrence of which was the result of the government's  inability  to take measures to eliminate the illegal blockade from  June 2018.

"Lydian" has repeatedly applied to the government to take the   necessary actions. This winter, heavy snowfall was recorded at the   Amulsar deposit. Under the conditions of illegal blocking, it was not   possible to build systems to prevent the appearance of surface water.   These activities had to be  carried out before snowfall. In the event   of resumption of work, it will take months to complete the   construction of water management systems. In this situation, the   Armenian government bears full responsibility for the deterioration   of the environment, water and air in the Amulsar field in case any   environmental problem occurs, the company warns. 

To note over the recent six months, protest actions were held against   several mining companies, including the Amulsar program, protesters   blocked roads and created obstacles for employees. The protests   against the Amulsar project led to a confrontation with the staff of   Lydian Armenia, who demanded that the protesters not interfere with   their right to work. Participants in the protest declared that there   are environmental problems, which the company refutes.  Lydian  Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International, whose  shareholders are major international institutional investors. The   Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia today   for the development of the Amulsar gold deposit, with a total value   of $ 370 million. Preparatory work has been going on since 2006. The   life of the Amulsar deposit should have been 10 years and 4 months;   it was planned to mine an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold   (about 10 million tons of ore) annually. The Amulsar program   envisaged the creation of 1,300 jobs during construction   (construction work will last about 2 years) and 650-700 jobs during   the entire field operation.