Ministry of Energy: ``Amulsar`` deposit project should be considered  successful experience with use of up- to-date technologies

ArmInfo.Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia refused to discuss the issue on suspending the program of Amulsar gold deposit  development. A letter addressed to environmental and non-governmental  organizations of the country published on ecolur.org notes that the  right of using deposits can be suspended if the Natural Resources  Code is violated.

The right to develop Amulsar deposit granted to Lydian Armenia can  not be suspended based on conclusions of foreign organizations.  According to the Article 51 of the Natural Resources Code the right  to develop resources is granted after making relevant positive  assessment on absence of environmental impact. In this context the  Amulsar deposit development project received a certificate of  compliance of cyanide management system with the international Code.  Moreover, on February 18, 2018 the official report of the  International Institute for Management of Cyanide noted that  regardless the results of the independent audit, the Lydian Armenia  program is in line with the principles and practice of the Cyanide  Code initiative.

''The Amulsar deposit development program can be considered a  successful experience with use of up-to- date technologies  considering implementation of socially responsible and nature  protection programs'', the letter of the Ministry reads. The authors  of the letter emphasize that 80% of activities have already been  conducted in the deposit. A few million cubic meters of land were  excavated, 9 thousand cubic meters of land were covered with  concrete, about 20 km of roads have been built.  Water management  activities, as well as most of the measures to maintain environmental  standards have been conducted. Two platforms for leaching are ready,  the installation of layers of gypsum board and polymer geomembranes  is underway. 

To recall, on May 29, a number of Armenian non-governmental  organizations addressed an open letter to the Prime Minister calling  for the suspension of the development of the  Amulsar deposit. In the  opinion of the authors of the letter, the development of the deposit  may become a new ecological disaster for Armenia. Meanwhile, Lydian  Armenia Executive Director Hayk  Aloyan made a statement which  particularly stated that for  the second day about 20 people were  blocking the roads leading to the  construction site of the Amulsar  deposit, thus depriving more than  1,450 employees of the opportunity  to conduct legal work, tearing  down the country's largest investment  program. "This provocation is directed not only against the company,  but also the country, as it creates obstacles for the transfer of  several hundred thousand dollars a day to the republic." Lydian  Armenia "is ready for any checks on environmental standards, social  management criteria, financial flows, shareholders, transparency tax  revenues and others, "the statement said. On June 6 representatives  of the government headed by Minister of Nature Protection Erik  Grigoryan visited Amulsar. Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Tigran  Avinyan wrote about this on his Facebook page. "Thus, we announce the  beginning of work aimed at fulfilling the task of the Prime  Minister." After the minister's visit, the specialized inspection  body, in which all interested parties will be included,  will begin  inspections as soon as possible", he wrote.

To recall, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British Lydian  International, whose shareholders are large international  institutional investors from the United States, Great  Britain, and a  number of European countries, including institutional  structures  such as IFC and EBRD. The Amulsar project is the largest industrial  project in Armenia for the development of a gold ore  deposit with a  total value of $370 million. In August 2016, a project was launched  that assumes the construction and development of the field.  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.  Within the framework of the Amulsar program, 1,300 jobs will be  created in the construction process (construction works will last  about 2 years) and 650-700 jobs throughout the entire operation of   the field. The shareholders of the company are also international  institutional investors IFC and EBRD. The company's shares are quoted  on the Toronto Stock Exchange.  Amulsar deposit is the second largest   in Armenia.