Lydian: 1,300 people lost their jobs in Armenia due to illegal  blockade of roads leading to Amulsar deposit

ArmInfo. Due to the illegal blockade of roads leading to the Amulsar deposit, over the past 6 months, 1,300 people (of whom 460 are residents of communities  surrounding the mine) were employed by Lydian, and its contracting  companies lost their jobs. 

This is stated in the official communication of the company.According  to the source, Lydian continues to monitor the social situation in  the communities, which is a component of the company's social  responsibility. The monitoring also includes migration indicators,  which were collected on the basis of data provided by employment  centers, community elders and employees of the company's social  group. 

According to the data obtained, the outflow of the population for the  period starting from the time of the blockade of roads to this day  increased annually, whereas during the period of construction work on  the Amulsar deposit in Gndevaz, Goraik and Saravan communities there  were no cases of migration. So, at the end of 2018, 6 people migrated  from the community of Gndevaz, 12 from Saravan. Migrants on a  permanent basis from Jermuk, there are 64 people, against 34 people  in the same period a year earlier.

However, along with the completion of construction work, seasonal  migration has increased in all 4 communities. According to the data  received, the number of temporarily migrated citizens for seasonal  work from Jermuk was 219 people, against 80 people a year earlier in  the same period.The blockade of Amulsar roads not only led to the  loss of several hundred direct jobs, but also had a negative impact  on indirect jobs in these communities: <During 2017, contractor  companies in the communities made purchases of $ 200 thousand (food,  fuel, transport and hotel services, etc.). These ongoing significant  financial flows created significant opportunities for local business  growth, expansion and job creation. And since June 2018, due to the  illegal blockade of roads, this possibility has disappeared>, the  report says.Recall that Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British  Lydian International, whose shareholders are also major international  institutional investors from the United States, Great Britain, and a  number of European countries, including the EBRD. 

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. In August 2016, the project for the  construction and development of the deposit was launched. Preparatory  work has been going on since 2006. The life of the Amulsarsky deposit  will be 10 years and 4 months, with an average of 200 thousand ounces  of gold (about 10 million tons of ore) planned annually. The stock is  listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar deposit is the second  largest reserves in Armenia.Note that since June 2018. The roads  leading to the Amulsar deposit  are closed by a group of people  opposing the mine.