ArmInfo.A meeting on the issue of exploiting the Amulsar gold deposit, convened by the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, started at the presidential residence at 26 Baghramyan.
Although the meeting is being held behind closed doors, it became known that among the invited were activists opposing the exploitation of the Amulsar field, environmentalists, members of the Council of Elders and the mayor of Jermuk, Vayots Dzor region of Armenia, and other stakeholders. At the same time, on Baghramyan Avenue, opposite the presidential residence, a protest against the implementation of the Amulsar project is taking place at this moment.
Earlier, Jermuk residents spread the message that a "protest" rally from Jermuk to Yerevan will take place on August 19 in the morning, and a walking procession started from Yerevan Freedom Square to Baghramyan 26. In the center of Yerevan there was also an action of women with baby strollers under the motto: "I want my children to leave in clean Armenia, ""Future without mines. " To recall, on August 14, the Investigative Committee of Armenia submitted an expert opinion on the Amulsar project of the Lebanese consulting company Earthlink & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD). As the head of the Committee Hayk Grigoryan stated at a government meeting on August 15, 3 important conclusions can be made on the basis of the expert opinion. First of all, as Grigoryan noted, this refers to the fact that there is no direct connection between the underground waters located on the territory of the Amulsar project and the thermal hot springs of Jermuk. There is also no connection with the waters of the Sevan basin. "At the same time, during an earthquake, a certain concentration of acid drainage can penetrate into the basin of Lake Sevan through the reservoirs of Spandaryan and Ketchut. However, the combination of this concentration will be insignificant on the scale of Lake Sevan," the head of the investigating body said. The third important conclusion that can be drawn based on the expert's conclusion is that the possible impact of groundwater from the Amulsar field on the Arpa, Debet and Darb rivers can be mitigated if Lydian Armenia takes 16 environmental mitigation measures proposed by experts. As Grigoryan pointed out, representatives of Lydian Armenia have already expressed their readiness to implement 15 of the proposed 16 events: they are already carrying out 10 events, and they will be ready to conduct another 5 measures in the near future. The head of the Committee noted that at present there are grounds for terminating the criminal case instituted under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (Concealment or willful misrepresentation of information on environmental pollution). In response, environmental activists opposing the exploitation of the Amulsar gold deposit said the investigating authority is manipulating the data. According to them, the results of the examination do not reflect the real situation and the document itself is inferior. Activists believe, that the socio-economic impact on the Jermuk resort, as well as the opinion of city residents is not taken into account.
To recall, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International. The Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia today for the development of the Amulsar gold ore deposit with a total value of $ 370 million. In August 2016, the start of the project involving the construction and development of the deposit took place.