Pashinyan: ``Lydian`` company has already made 80% of investments in  Amulsar deposit and we can not ignore this fact 

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.