ArmInfo. The Amulsar gold mine will be re-operated, Armenia's Minister of Economy Vahan Kerobyan stated at a meeting of the Standing Committee on Economic Affairs, Parliament of Armenia.
Armenia's Ministry of Economy will sign a $250mln package with the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) marking the completion of the Amulsar construction project and re-operation of the gold mine.
Mr Kerobyan also reported work to resume the operation of the Teghut mine, which stopped operating because of sanctions against the owner.
According to the Ministry of Economy, the EDB, the Lydian Armenia CJSC and Armenia's Government are to sign a memorandum of understanding on February 22, with Minister Vahan Kerobyan to sign the document on behalf of Armenia's government.
Since the end of 2018, the Amulsar gold mine has been blocked by environmental activists. Construction work on it had to be suspended.
In March 2022, the Minister of Economy of Armenia Vagan Kerobyan noted that if nothing interferes, the work of the Amulsar gold mine will be resumed, referring to the department's program of events, which contains a provision on solving the Amulsar problem.
Previously, before the change of the beneficiary, whose name is not yet known, Lydian Armenia was a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $370 million. The life of the deposit is 10 years and 4 months, while it is planned to produce an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold annually.
The field is the second largest in Armenia. According to the company, the deposit contains about 73,733 kg of gold with an average grade of 0.78 g per ton, as well as 294.367 tons of silver with an average grade of 9.29 g per ton. It is located in the south-east of the country, 13 km from the resort town of Jermuk, in the interfluve of the Arpa and Vorotan rivers.
According to the RA Statistical Committee, in the mining industry and the development of open pits in Armenia in 2022. compared to 2021 a decline of 3.2% was recorded (against a decline of 0.8% a year earlier), with a volume of 517.4 billion drams.
