Are ecology and business compatible: Unlike Jermuk and Gndevaz  residents, Saravan and Gorayk villagers support the Amulsar mine  development

ArmInfo.Residents of the villages of Saravan and Gorayk, Vayots Dzor region of Armenia support the implementation of the Amulsar mine development project. They  announced this on August 23 during a meeting with Prime Minister  Nikol Pashinyan.

As one of the residents of the village of Goraik stated, perhaps some  residents of the village are against the development of the mine, but  the main part is for. According to him, they consider the program as  an employment opportunity. According to Gorayk residents, "for a  country in a state of war with a poor economy, it is impermissible  luxury to abandon the economic potential of the project." Already  today, as he pointed out, 30 villagers are working in the Lydian  Armenia, which develops the Amulsar gold mine.

Another resident of the village immediately complained that there  were no representatives of the village of Gorayk among the Lydian  leadership. "There is no one hundred percent safe mining industry."  But, if risk can be managed, the mine must be exploited, "said the  third. The latter, as it turned out, is a" second specialty "as a  geologist, and he received his education thanks to financial support   from Lydian " 

It should be noted that today Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol  Pashinyan visited Jermuk in connection with the protests of the  residents of the city against the development of the Amulsar gold  mine. The latter is located 10 kilometers in a straight line from  Jermuk. Residents of the city categorically told the prime minister  that they insisted: "Jermuk should remain a resort city, Amulsar -  without a mine." Many tourists and guests of the city, in an  interview with the Prime Minister, noted that they had chosen the  city precisely because of its spa and wellness significance, and if  the mine is developed in the immediate vicinity, they are unlikely to  visit Jermuk next time. 

As the former Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Poland, now  the head of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court(to note, in  2012-2014 he held the post of governor of Vayots Dzor region), Edgar  Ghazaryan stated to the Prime Minister, Jermuk will lose the status  of a health resort city if the Amulsar mine is developed, since it  was created as a health resort city, and the development of a mine in  the neighborhood will cause irreparable damage to the city.  It was  reported that after Jermuk, the head of government was going to visit  the Gndevaz community, which is the zone of direct impact of the  project, but Pashinyan visited to the villages of Saravan and Gorayk.  According to the Jermuk residents, the latter are interested in  implementing the mine development program, because they believe that  because of their location they are safe from risks, and the Amulsar  mine does not pose any immediate danger to them, and if it is  developed, jobs for village residents can be created.  Lydian Armenia  is a subsidiary of British Lydian International. The total cost of  the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The mine's life will be 10  years and 4 months, with an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold  being mined annually.  Amulsar mine is the second largest reserves in  Armenia.