ArmInfo. At Lydian Armenia, health and safety culture is of outmost importance. With the start of construction works at Amulsar the Company initiated a renovation and refurbishment of the hospital in Vayk, one of the nearby towns of Amulsar. This hospital has been identified as the most strategic medical facility to serve the needs of the project in case of emergency situations.
There are two well equipped medical aid facilities at Amulsar construction site which are capable of providing primary medical care but best international practice in health and safety is to identify a medical facility close to the mine site, for trauma care in emergency situations. With this in mind, Lydian Armenia has invested over 100,000 USD into the renovation and equipping of the surgical theatre including the installation of an elevator necessary for delivering patients in critical condition to surgery. On December 13th, the opening ceremony of the renovated hospital took place in Vayk. Management of Lydian Armenia, regional authorities of the town of Vayk and the the head of Vayots Dzor Region participated at the event. Apart from the medical equipment and renovation of the facilities, Lydian Armenia has also invested in training of the local medical professionals. The hospital staff will undergo several medical training courses. This includes training a neurologist, surgeon-orthopedist, laporoscopy surgeon, laboratory specialist. These will be 2,5 to 7 month long training courses in Yerevan, financed by Lydian and aimed at improving the local medical service. Lydian Armenia Managing Director Hayk Aloyan emphasized the importance of this investment: "Lydian Armenia especially values investments that serve both the needs of Amulsar project and that of the communities. We expect lasting cooperation with the hospital of Vayk. Already today this renovated hospital and the refurbished surgical block will serve the needs of the Amulsar project in case of emergency and will offer better medical services to the residents of the Amusar communities". Head of Medical Services of Lydian Armenia, Dr. Vigen Tatintsyan spoke about the strict rules on health and safety at Amulsar project. "We aim at reducing all risks of injuries and work-related emergency situations at site. Since the start of construction we haven't had any life-threatening injuries at Amulsar. Additionally, a responsible company needs to be prepared for all kind of situations and the refurbishment of Vayk medical center was aimed at making sure we are prepared for these risks.
We are also pleased that the staff of the hospital will undergo training with the support of Lydian, and will ensure better medical services for the community", Doctor Tatintsyan says. The Head of Vayots Dzor Region Mr. Harutyun Sargsyan thanked Lydian Armenia for its investment in the hospital that will serve the whole region of Vayots Dzor. Answering the questions of the journlaists he also emphasized the importance of the jobs and economic opportunities created by the Amulsar project in the Region.
Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British Lydian International, whose shareholders are also large international institutional investors from the United States, Great Britain, a number of European countries, including IFC and EBRD. The Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia for the development of the Amulsar gold deposit at a total cost of $ 370 million.
In August 2016, a project for the construction and development of the field was launched. Preliminary work has been carried out since 2006. The life of the Amulsar deposit will be 10 years and 4 months, an annual average of 200,000 ounces of gold (about 10 million tons of ore) is planned. The company's shares are quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar deposit is the second largest in Armenia.