ArmInfo.On September 9, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, during a regular conversation with a citizen on his Facebook page, again touched on the issue of developing the Amuslar mine, urging citizens of the country who blocked the road leading to the mine to unblock it. "As of right now, we have no legal grounds to prohibit the operation of the Amulsar mine," Pashinyan said.
The head of government recalled that he had previously instructed the Ministry of the Environment to examine whether there was a reason for an additional EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment) by Lydian. On September 4, a response was received from the ministry; various discussions took place on this issue in a working format. According to the Prime Minister, the outcome of the discussions is as follows: according to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia there are absolutely no mechanisms that give the right, by administrative decision, to demand a new EIA. "Even if de jure there is a need to initiate such a process, this can be achieved only by the results of additional verification," he explained. Moreover, as Pashinyan pointed out, even conducting an audit and identifying violations does not guarantee the imperative of a new EIA. , the head of the Cabinet explained.
As Pashinyan assured, the Lydian leadership committed to 100% safe operation of the mine. , he noted. According to the prime minister, he warned company representatives about possible negative consequences for Lydian in case of deviations from the agreements. , the prime minister said.
According to the prime minister, the public anxiety cannot be ignored. The authorities will take into account the anxiety of the economic community. The prime minister recalled that Moody's recently upgraded the credit rating of Armenia, which means an opportunity for Armenian banks to attract cheaper and affordable credit funds. In this context, as he pointed out, this rating also determines the level of interest rates on loans provided by commercial banks to citizens. At the same time, according to Pashinyan, improper response to signals, including a ban on the operation of the Amulsar mine without legal grounds, can negatively affect the international rating of Armenia. If the authorities put environmental issues at the forefront by banning the operation of the mine, then, according to the Prime Minister, questions will arise about the development of other mines in Armenia. "Then the international community will have doubts about the non-discriminatory attitude of the republic," the head of the Cabinet emphasized.
Nikol Pashinyan once again assured that the Armenian government cannot turn a blind eye to possible environmental risks. "My position today, as before, is that the mine can be exploited if it is safe for the environment," he said, adding that the operator of the mine guarantees safety both today and after the closure of the mine.
, the prime minister said. At the same time, according to Pashinyan, he instructed to thoroughly study all the issues that continue to concern Armenian society today, in particular, in the framework of the criminal case instituted in the IC under Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Armenia (Concealment or willful misrepresentation of information on environmental pollution).
According to the prime minister, representatives of Lydian international plan to resume construction work no earlier than April-May 2020, and the operation of the mine itself - by the 4th quarter of 2020 or from January 2021.
To recall, after the change of the Armenian government, construction work at the field was suspended as a result of protests by environmental activists. The Armenian government decided to conduct an additional EIA examination, which was ordered by Earth link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD). The examination cost the Armenian taxpayer $ 396 thousand, however, after its publication, questions regarding the safe operation of the mine became no less. As a result, it was decided to hold a Skype conference with experts from the ELARD consulting company, during which they stated that the EIA conducted by Lydian in 2016 was insufficient to guarantee the environmentally safe operation of the mine.
In addition, despite the fact that earlier the RA Investigative Committee stated that the impact on the Arpa, Vorotan and Darb rivers can be mitigated if Lydian Armenia implements 16 environmental mitigation measures proposed by experts: 10 of which they are already conducting, 5 - they will be ready to hold in the near future, ELARD noted that they themselves did not see such events during the study of the company's EIA.
As early as September 6, issues related to the situation around the Amulsar mine program were discussed during a meeting between the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the interim president of Lydian international company Edward Sellers and general director of Lydian Armenia Hayk Aloyan.
It should be noted that Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the 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 field is the second largest reserves in Armenia. According to the company, the mine contains about 73733 kg of gold with an average grade of 0.78 g per ton, as well as 294.367 tons of silver with an average grade of 9.29 g per ton. It is located in the south-east of the country, 13 km from the resort town of Jermuk, between the rivers Arpa and Vorotan. Environmentalists and ordinary citizens are concerned that the operation of the mine could lead to the pollution of the mineral underground waters of Jermuk and Lake Sevan.