ArmInfo.Employees of the Lydian Armenia company, which was developing the Amulsar gold deposit development project, decided to file lawsuits against the government, the company's representative Liana Hovsepyan said at a news conference in Yerevan on March 10.
According to her, it has already been two years since the Amulsar mine was illegally closed, and its employees cannot get to their place of work. Of the approximately 300 employees only 15-20 remain employed today. "Various checks have been carried out in order to restore our rights so that we can resume work, but no decision has yet been made. Given that the government did not support us and having lost all hope, we were forced to file lawsuits." Liana Hovsepyan said.
According to her, the main claim of the plaintiffs is the restoration of the rights of the company's employees. "We intend to demand from the government a ompensation for all those financial and psychological damages that were caused to our employees during these 2 years. And we will demand compensation not only for those 2 years that we did not work, but also for those years that we should have worked. It was planned that the mine will operate for 10-15 years. We will go all the way to the European Court. We will demand compensation for all damages caused to us>, the company representative noted. She also emphasized that 30 people appealed to the court, but this figure will increase to 300. "The average salary of employees was at the level of 600 thousand drams. If everyone goes to the court and demands their lost salary, imagine what will happen. The matter concerns large amounts. The government promised us: hold on, the mine will be opened, we will support you, but so far no one has supported us, "Liana Hovsepyan complained.
It should be noted that despite the assurances of the Lydian company that about $ 300 million has already been invested in the development project of the Amulsar gold deposit, environmentalists do not share the government's enthusiasm about the attractiveness of the mine's operation plan. Environmentalists fear that the exploitation of the field, during which sodium cyanide will be used, may 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. Since the end of 2018, the road to the field has been blocked by environmental activists. The company in December last year announced that it was starting the delisting of its shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange, where they were quoted, and in fact announced a default.