ArmInfo. ""Initially, I would not want a mine like Amulsar to be developed near the resort town of Jermuk," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated in the city of Jermuk at a meeting with representatives of the Lydian company and environmentalists protesting the development of the Amulsar mine.
"However, during my visit to Jermuk, I saw that the Lydian company has made huge investments in the country's economy, in fact, 80% of the investments have already been made, and this is a fact that we can not ignore," the Prime Minister said, stressing that there is still no proven fact that the company had violated any environmental standards in its activities.
At the same time, Pashinyan said that today there are two urgent issues related to the activities of Lydian - whether the operation of the mine will affect the quality of water in Jermuk and its image of the resort city. Against this background, the Prime Minister stressed that in making decisions, everyone should base on concrete facts, not emotions. "If we choose unlawfull solution, we will have serious problems at the international level," Pashinyan said.
In addition, he did not rule out the fact that people who are interested in involving Armenia in international legal scandals may back the protests against development of the Amulsar deposit.. To note protest actions of environmentalists against the development of the Amulsar deposit have recently intensified. The organizers of the actions believe that the deposit development will cause irreparable damage to the environment of Vayots Dzor. Lydian company, on the contrary, claims that the Amulsar deposit will be operated in accordance with the strictest environmental standards. To note, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British Lydian International, whose shareholders are also large international institutional investors from the United States, Great Britain and 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 with 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.
