Minister: It`s early to talk about the future of the field until  preliminary examination of Amulsar is published

ArmInfo. Until there is no preliminary examination of Amulsar, it's early to talk about the  future of the field. The Minister of Economy Tigran Khachatryan told  journalists on June 7.

According to him, with the exclusion of all concerns related to the  operation of the field, construction work at the mine will continue.  However, at this stage, while there is no preliminary opinion, there  is no need to talk about the continuation or closure of the program.  "The results of the research will be available to the public," the  minister said, noting also that the recent changes in the leadership  of the Lydian Armenia company managing Amulsar are an internal matter  of the company. Earlier, the Minister of the nature Protection, Erik  Grigoryan, told reporters that the ministry had not yet become  acquainted with the preliminary examination report on the Amulsar  deposit. "I believe that it will be possible to speak more  substantively on this matter after receiving the conclusion," he  stressed. 

It should be noted that on May 31, the Investigation Committee of  Armenia received a preliminary conclusion of a comprehensive  examination of the assessment of the impact of the Amulsar field  operation on water resources and the geological environment.  According to the Investigation Committee of Armenia, the conclusion  consists of 150 pages. Currently, a translation of the text of the  opinion is being carried out, the full text of which will be provided  within the agreed time frame.

To recall, Lydian International Limited on March 19 announced that  the Government of the Republic of Armenia had begun an independent  assessment of the environmental impact of the Amulsar Gold project -  water resources, geology, biodiversity and water quality. In  September 2018, the Armenian government has already commissioned an  assessment of the possible consequences of the Amulsar Gold project  in terms of water resources. The scope of work under the current  audit will also include an analysis of the environmental and social  impact assessment ("EIA"), although the company's EIA was previously  approved by the Armenian authorities in accordance with Armenian  legislation even before the company began construction at the Amulsar  field . Earth Link and Advanced Resources Development were chosen as  consulting firms for the assessment by the Armenian government.  In   February 2019, the Armenian government allocated $ 396,900 to  finance the third audit, the start of which was announced earlier. In  this regard, Joao Carrel, President and Chief Executive Officer of  Lydian, said: "We have worked closely with the organizations that  conducted the two previous government audits - since the blockade of  the Amulsar mine in June 2018, and we will, of course, cooperate with  ELARD in an event that the government calls a final audit. " At the  same time, he stressed that the company continues to work with the  Armenian government to ensure the rule of law in order to restore  access to the Amulsar project site and allow Lydian to resume mining  and environmental activities, and all this along with the third  audit. ''Despite all our efforts, and at the same time - the  intolerance of the incumbent government to other illegal blockades in  the country - <Lydian> is not allowed to resume work. The actions  and, accordingly, the inaction of the Armenian government are part of  an ongoing campaign against Lydian investments in Armenia. No other  company in Armenia has undergone three inspections since June 2018.   The company does not agree either with the need or with the legal  justification for the third audit, since the Armenian government,  having approved the EIA, has already confirmed that the Amulsar Gold  project meets the environmental requirements of Armenia, and  "Lydian", relying on this approval, invested hundreds of million  dollars.  To recall, "Lydian Armenia" is a subsidiary of the British  Lydian International. The Amulsar project is the largest industrial  project in Armenia today for the development of the Amulsar gold  deposit with a total value of $ 370 million. In August 2016, a  project was launched that involves the construction and development  of the field. Preparatory work has been going on since 2006. The life  of the Amulsar deposit will be 10 years and 4 months, it is planned  to produce an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold (about 10  million tons of ore) annually. Estimated mineral resources, as  indicated in the Technical Report for the 1st quarter of 2017,  contain 3.5 million adjusted and specified ounces of gold and 1.3  million supposed ounces of gold. Amulsar deposit is the second  largest reserve in Armenia. The company is listed on the Toronto  Stock Exchange. Last summer the project had to be frozen due to the  protests of environmental activists who blocked entry to the mine  site under construction. The new government of Armenia did not use  force and announced the need for a new environmental expertise to  fully assure the safety of future exploitation of the field, located  a few kilometers from the resort town of Jermuk.