Nature Protection Minister of Armenia Aram Haroutiunyan received British Ambassador to Armenia Katherine Jane Leach on June 25, the ministry press-service reported.
Ambassador Leach touched upon the Amulsar deposit and asked the minister to support the investor company. The two parties came out for improvement of the mechanisms to reduce environment pollution from mining activities. The minister said that the mining activities must meet international standards not to cause any environmental damage to Jermuk resort town, Lake Sevan, and the nearby area and bio-diversity.
"We are guided with the green economy ideology and every environmental project, including Amulsar, must be perfect," the minister said.
The Ambassador, in turn, said that the parties are well aware of the project's importance, but it is necessary to use every opportunity not to make it vulnerable.
Geoteam CJSC was founded in Armenia in 2005. 95% of its shares belong to Lydian International Ltd. According to the preliminary data of the company, over 40 tons of gold will be mined from the Amulsar deposit. The International Finance Corporation (16.5% stake) and the EBRD (7.5% stake) are among Lydian International's shareholders. Experts believe that this circumstance will sure help adequately assessing the basic environmental risks of the project.