Monday, January 8 2024 20:30

ArmInfo. The Amulsar mine will be operational this year.  Armenian Minister of Economy Vahan  Kerobyan stated  during a press conference on Monday.

He emphasized that about 1,000 new jobs will be opened in the Vayots  Dzor region with the launch of the mine. "The construction work will  be completed and the mine will start operating," the head of the  department said.

At the same time, Kerobyan noted that new jobs will also be provided  by a number of other large investment projects that will be  implemented. In this regard, he singled out the construction of the  World Trade Center in Yerevan (WORLD TRADE CENTER - WTC), a ski  resort of the Myler Mountain Resort company in the Aragatsotn region,  etc.

On February 21, 2023,  the Government of  the  Republic of Armenia,  Lydian Armenia CJSC and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) signed a  memorandum of understanding, which   marked the restart of the  program for the development of the Amulsar   mine. Within the  framework of the memorandum,  $150 million will be invested, of which  $100  million will be EDB loans, $50 million will  be provided by a  local  bank, and an additional $100 million will be  invested outside  the  agreement. Within the framework of the  transaction, the  Armenian government will receive 12.5% of the  company's shares, in  exchange for which it will insure the transaction against certain  risks.

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, Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan noted    that if nothing interferes, the work of the Amulsar gold mine will be    resumed, referring to the department's program of measures, which    contains a provision on solving the Amulsar problem.  Earlier, before    the change of beneficiaries, Lydian Armenia was a subsidiary of the    British offshore Lydian International, which placed shares on the    Toronto Stock Exchange. Then the company went through the process of    delisting. As a result of the restructuring, the full stake in the    company was transferred to the newly established Lydian Canada    Ventures, owned by the U.S. firm Orion Mine Finance, and the Canadian    company Osisko Gold Royalties.  The total cost of the Amulsar project    is $370 million. The estimated period of operation of the mine 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 minecontains 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. 

At its meeting on September 7 last year, the Armenian government  approved the World Trade Center construction program. The  justification states that <RENSHIN> LLC in the building located at  Yerevan, st.  Saryan 22, will implement the urban investment program  "World Trade Center Yerevan" (WORLD TRADE CENTER YEREVAN).

According to the source, at the initial stage of the project the  company plans to invest about $211 million 554 thousand. At least 10  thousand jobs will be opened directly.  On July 29, 2021, the  government approved an investment project of the Myler Mountain  Resort company with a total volume of 30 billion drams, which will be  used for the construction of a new ski resort in the Aragatsotn  region of Armenia.

The ski complex is planned to be built near Aparan, on an area of  approximately 2080 hectares, at an altitude of approximately two  thousand meters. As part of the program, it is also planned to build  places for entertainment and leisure. According to the business plan,  the company intends to serve 500 thousand tourists annually.