Monday, September 9 2019 18:48

ArmInfo. In the event of  gaining access to the Amulsar mine, Lydian International plans to  resume construction work no earlier than in April-May 2020. Further,  if everything goes according to the schedule, the first gold bar is  expected no earlier than the end of 2020 or the first quarter of  2021. The Interim President of Lydian International, Edward Sellers  stated this during a regular discussion in the government under the  leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on the Amulsar program.

Thus, according to the video posted by Pashinyan on his Facebook  page, during the discussion on September 7, the head of the Armenian  government first of all asked the company representatives for  guarantees regarding the prevention of negative environmental  consequences in the form of pollution of soil, air, water and  biodiversity for the city of Jermuk (the Amulsar gold mine is located  10 kilometers from Jermuk -ed. note) and neighboring communities. In  response, Edward Sellers said the company was not interested in  pollution and environmental damage. He reaffirmed the company's  obligations under the EIA (Environmental Impact Assessment), which  would mean the conservation of biodiversity and mitigation of  environmental threats.

Then Nikol Pashinyan asked the responsible state officials whether  Armenia had the tools and levers for registering and responding to  all kinds of violations. As the Minister of the Nature Protection  Erik Grigoryan pointed out, according to the legislation of Armenia,  from January 1, 2018, all mining companies are required to monitor  the quality of air, water, biodiversity, waste and provide data not  only to the authorized body, but also publish them. According to  those in charge of the field, in case of detection of environmental  risks and violation of obligations undertaken by the Lydian  management, the mine operator company will be given 90 days to  eliminate the violations. Otherwise, the mine will be closed.

Summing up the discussion, Nikol Pashinyan noted that the Lydian  company at the highest level confirms the commitments made under the  EIA. "This means that the quality of air, water, soil, fauna and  biodiversity will not change as a result of the operation of the  mine," he explained. In addition, as the prime minister pointed out,  Lydian is ready to provide the Government of Armenia and civil  society representatives with access to the data of the monitoring  conducted by the company. "We also record that in case of deviation  from the EIA, the company is given a certain period of time to bring  the work in line with the document. We also note that by the end of  2020 the Armenian government will have its own monitoring system,  which does not cancel the shared use of Lydian's monitoring system's  capabilities", Nikol Pashinyan concluded.

To recall, the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said live on  Facebook today that at the moment there are no legal grounds to  prohibit the operation of the Amulsar mine. Nikol Pashinyan also  officially called on the residents of Jermuk to unblock all roads  leading to the Amulsar mine.

The reaction of the Jermuk residents was not long in coming - the  residents of the resort city said that the situation in the community  was tense and they were offended by the call of the prime minister.  According to them, Jermuk residents are not going to open the road.  So, as stated in the statement of the initiative group "I am against  the mining industry in Amulsar", today at 8:30pm the residents of the  resort town of Jermuk will gather for a private discussion in  connection with the call to unblock the roads to Amulsar.  "After the  discussion, we will make a statement. Amulsar is our homeland and  that's final," the statement reads.

To note, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British Lydian  International. The life of the deposit will be 10 years and 4 months,  with an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold planned to be mined  annually.  Amulsar field is the second largest reserve in Armenia.  According to the company, the deposit 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 9.29 g per ton.

The operation  of the field will allow to increase the country's GDP  by 1% - 4%, 1% of which will be a direct impact. Finished products,  which will be almost completely exported, will be about $ 250  million. As a result, the impact on export growth is estimated at  about 10%.

Nevertheless, local ecologists do not share the enthusiasm of the  government about the attractiveness of the mine exploitation plan.  The Amulsar mine is located in the valley of the Arpa and Vorotan  rivers, in the immediate vicinity of the spa town of Jermuk, famous  for its mineral springs, and not far from the largest freshwater lake  in the region, Sevan. Environmentalists fear that the exploitation of  the field, during which sodium cyanide will be used, could lead to  the oxidation of water in rivers. Contaminated waters will become  unsuitable for drinking and irrigation and may cause irreparable harm  to the mineral springs of Jermuk and the ecosystem of Sevan.