ArmInfo. As part of her visit to Jermuk, U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien visited the Amulsar mine, the U.S. Embassy in Armenia reports on its Facebook page.
Ambassador Kvien traveled to Vayots Dzor to meet with local officials and observe the security situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The Ambassador met with the Governor of Vayots Dzor, the EU Monitoring Mission, and local military representatives, joined by Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. Lilit Makunts. Ambassador Kvien emphasized U.S. support for Armenia's sovereignty and security, as well as lasting peace in the South Caucasus.
Ambassador Kvien traveled to Jermuk to learn about the challenges and opportunities facing the city. She met with the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of Jermuk, and hosted a roundtable with business owners to discuss the local economy and tourism sector. Ambassador Kvien was impressed with the beautiful natural landscape and outdoor activities that make Jermuk a popular tourist destination.
Ambassador Kvien, joined by the Mayor of Jermuk, visited Lydian's Amulsar mining project to view their operations. The Amulsar project represents one of the biggest U.S. investments in Armenia and we are proud that it is deploying western mining standards. The United States supports Armenia's economic development and opportunities for U.S. companies and investors to do business in a range of sectors.
Since the end of 2018, the Amulsar gold mine has been blocked by environmental activists. The government was never able to orient itself about the resumption of the construction of the mine and work on it had to be suspended. In March 2022, the Minister of Economy of Armenia Vagan Kerobyan noted that if nothing interferes, the work of the Amulsar gold mine will be resumed, referring to the department's program of events, which contains a provision on solving the Amulsar problem. Previously, before the change of beneficiaries, Lydian Armenia was a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International, which placed shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Then the company went through the process of delisting. As a result of the restructuring, the full stake in the company was transferred to the newly created Canadian-American Lydian Canada Ventures, the beneficiaries of which are the American company Orion Mine Finance and the Canadian Osisko Gold Royalties. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $370 million. The life of the deposit is 10 years and 4 months, while it is planned to produce an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold annually. The field is the second largest in Armenia.
According to the company, the deposit contains about 73,733 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, in the interfluve of the Arpa and Vorotan rivers.