Expert: On the issue of Amulsar, certain forces in Armenia are trying  to drive a wedge between the authorities and the people

ArmInfo. Certain forces in Armenia, I will not indicate exactly who, are trying to drive a wedge between the authorities and the people, choosing events around the  Amusar field as a target for their actions. The well-known economist  Tatul Manaseryan adheres to this point of view.

In an interview with ArmInfo correspondent, answering the question  about the possibility of holding a referendum on this issue, the  economist emphasized that the government and the people on any issue  should be united, and both sides should decide the issue. "It is  necessary to take into account the opinion of the region's  population, even the voice of one person should be heard," Manaseryan  stated.

The economist recalled that even 2 years ago a group of reputable  international experts addressed the question of the appropriateness  of developing a gold deposit, which indicated that Lidian, designed  to operate the mine, has nothing to do with the mining industry.  Experts analyzed the situation, identifying 5 main risks -  geochemical, biological, aquatic, etc. Lidian did not have any  reasonable guarantees for any of these risks, which is already a  violation of the law, and, as a result, is punishable by criminal  law, Tatul Manaseryan stated, also pointing out the lack of  qualifications of specialists who conducted research under the  agreement with the company "Ellard". "For a start, these specialists  should graduate from universities, graduate schools, defend  dissertations, and work in the field for a while to do this kind of  research," said Tatul Manaseryan.

He also added that one should not be afraid of appeals to the  arbitration court. The expert noted that in the agreement with Lidian  there is no clause giving the right to such a development of events.  "We must not succumb to blackmail by companies or investors. In the  end, Armenia is an independent state in which the right of the   people, their voice is a priority, "the expert added, pointing out  the experience of a number of European countries that covered similar  projects at one time, based on environmental risks.

It should be noted that on the eve of the RA Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan actually gave the green light to the development of the  Amulsar field. During a live broadcast on his Facebook page, the head  of government stated that the Armenian government will constantly  monitor during the development of the field. He once again assured  that if facts were suddenly revealed that would cast doubt on the  feasibility of exploiting the field, the Armenian government would be  ready to consider it, since it was not constrained by anything.

Recall that on August 14, the Investigative Committee of Armenia  presented an expert opinion on the Amulsar project of the consulting  company Earthlink & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD).  Based on  the conclusion of the examination, the SC of Armenia stated 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. Moreover, as indicated in the UK, during an earthquake, a  certain concentration of acid drainage can penetrate into the basin  of Lake Sevan through the Spandaryan and Ketchut reservoirs. However,  the combination of this concentration will be insignificant on the  scale of Lake Sevan. The third important conclusion, on the Arpa,  Vorotan and Darb rivers, can be mitigated if LydianArmenia takes 16  environmental mitigation measures proposed by experts. As the head of  the UK Hayk Grigoryan pointed out, LydianArmenia representatives have  already expressed their readiness to implement 15 of the proposed 16  events: 10 events they are already holding, 5 will be ready to  conduct in the near future. Recall that 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 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.