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.

ArmInfo.Ministry of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia refused to discuss the issue on suspending the program of Amulsar gold deposit  development. A letter addressed to environmental and non-governmental  organizations of the country published on ecolur.org notes that the  right of using deposits can be suspended if the Natural Resources  Code is violated.

ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. The companies statement reads: Lydian  Armenia shares the belief expressed by Armenia's Government in a  recent statement that all mining companies, need to comply with  environmental regulations ensuring the protection of the environment  and the well-being of our citizens. To this effect, we welcome the  initiative to undertake environmental compliance audits of the mining  industry to ensure that compliance is uniformly achieved and enforced  throughout the mining sector. Over the last days, several mining  companies in the country have been targeted, including Lydian's  Amulsar Project, with protests manifested by road blockages  disrupting operations. The protests at Amulsar led to peaceful  counter-protests by Lydian employees and company supporters from the  communities demanding from the protesters to restore their right to  work. The protesters have been alleging deficiencies in environmental  compliance and inconsistent hiring practices. Lydian has an  established grievance procedure and encourages all stakeholders, to  formally communicate specific concerns and grievances to the company  and thereby achieve resolutions that are mutually acceptable.  Presently, all access roads to Amulsar's project are open, workers  have returned to site, and construction activities are returning to  normal.  

ArmInfo. Formed by Lydian, an  independent advisory group that monitors the Amulsar development  project, presented its first annual report. The head of the group,  Dr.  John Harker, announced during a press conference on May 22.

ArmInfo. "Lydian Armenia"  company reports that an important achievement has been registered in  the sphere of health and labor protection. For 2 million man-hours in  the implementation of the program of development of the Amulsar  deposit, not a single incident was recorded.  The press service of  the company reports.

ArmInfo. Joao Carrello will  succeed as president and CEO of Lydian International, Howard  Stevenson. This is stated in the company's official announcement.

ArmInfo. While we are highlighting a few of our female team members, many more are behind the scenes. Mining continues to be largely men dominated industry not only in Armenia but worldwide.

ArmInfo. Headed by the Deputy Minister of Energy Infrastructures and Natural Resources of the Republic of Armenia Vardan Gevorgyan, the Armenian delegation participates in the 86th exhibition and conference of the Association of Miners and Explorers Canada (PDAC) in Toronto.

ArmInfo. Lydian Armenia,  which is engaged in gold mining at the Amulsar deposit, reports on  the liquidation of the consequences of the accident on the water  supply system, which supplies the community of Gndevaz with drinking  water.

ArmInfo. The program of exploitation of Amulsar gold deposit of Lydian Armenia company was awarded a certificate of compliance with the standards of the International Cyanide Management Code (ICMC) in the pre-production cycle. The International Institute of Management of Cyanide officially notified the company.

ArmInfo. On January 12 Larry Breckenridge, registered professional engineer and international independent expert, presented details of the environmental management of the Amulsar project at the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia.  Minister Artsvik Minasyan, Deputy Minister Erik Grigoryan and the experts of the Ministry participated in the meeting. Mr. Breckenridge explained that all risks at Amulsar are manageable and that the project is being developed in line with good modern industry practice. During the 3 hour meeting, all questions of concern around Amulsar were discussed, including the public concerns around lake Sevan, impact on water resources, and acid rock drainage (ARD) management. Mr. Breckenridge explained that ARD occurs naturally and is a common issue in many gold, silver or copper mining projects. Nevertheless, modern mining has the experience and means to manage the problem. In case of Amulsar, the risk of ARD is milder than in many other mining projects that are successfully controlling ARD.  This is due to certain project specifics, such as fully-oxidized ore and the fact that only a portion of the barren rock is potentially-acid generating. The detailed ARD management plan, that is a result of over seven years of extensive research on Amulsar, was presented. It ensures reliable protection of all surrounding water resources.  The study determined that there is no significant water quality impact from the Amulsar project.  This due to active pollution-prevention measures, state-of-the art water treatment, and the fact that mining-impacted water will be consumed by operations.  Mr. Breckenridge presented some successful examples of similar ARD management in mining projects in the US that use the same technology that Amulsar will employ. The expert discussion was planned to be held between Lydian representatives and the authors of recent public reports criticizing the Amulsar project. However, despite a previously-expressed willingness, the authors of the reports refused to participate at the expert meeting. Armen Saghatelyan, the Director of the Ecological and Noosphere Studies Center was the only project critic that came to the meeting, however, he chose to leave at the start of the meeting, with no participation. Larry Breckenridge is an expert with the US-based Global Resource Engineering. He is a Qualified Person (QP) under Canadian legislation. This status allows him to provide a legally binding opinion for feasibility studies and other documents required under the Securities Exchange Commission. Mr. Breckenridge has more than 20 years of experience in mining environmental management internationally and is an author of many technical articles. He is one of the many internationally recognized qualified experts involved in the design and implementation of the environmental management of the Amulsar mine.

ArmInfo. "Heavy Basket"  Agricultural Consumer Cooperative, which was established in 2017 in  Gndevaz community of RA Vayots Dzor region, includes members from the  nearby communities of Jermuk, Gorayk and Saravan. The Cooperative  summed up the Year 2017 with progress & key steps towards its  establishment:  cooperative registration, product presentation during  Christmas Bazar and its official opening ceremony. 

ArmInfo. In 2017, the company "Lydian Armenia" paid $ 863.3 thousand to the budgets of local authorities for renting the land, the company informed ArmInfo.

ArmInfo. At Lydian Armenia,  health and safety culture is of outmost importance. With the start of  construction works at Amulsar the Company  initiated a renovation and  refurbishment of the hospital in Vayk, one of the nearby towns of  Amulsar. This hospital has been identified as the most strategic  medical facility to serve the needs of the project in case of  emergency situations.   

ArmInfo.  The process of extracting gold from ore using cyanide was developed in Scotland yet far in 1887. The first cyanide was used by the New Zealand company Crown Mines when operating the Karangahake mine. Today in the world, cyanidation is considered a safer alternative to amalgamation, which was previously the main method of gold recovery. As a result, cyanide has been used for about 120 years in the mining industry to extract gold. In Armenia, cyanide has been used in the mining industry for a long time, but Lydian will be the first company in Armenia to use cyanide in accordance with the principles of the International Cyanide Code. Despite this, negative feedback has been heard in the community about the use of cyanide and the company has been repeatedly criticized by environmental NGOs. Although, despite the high toxicity, after the introduction of the rules of the International Code of Cyanide use, in recent years, mining companies that joined the code did not report any problematic cases with cyanide. To clarify the situation and learn more about the process of cyanide management in Lydian Armenia, the correspondent ArmInfo talked with the chief metallurgist of the company John Fourie

ArmInfo. Director of Lydian  Armenia Sustainable Development Armen Stepanian and founder of the  British consulting company for environmental protection TWC Joe  Trevick at the Washington International Biodiversity Symposium held  in the second week of November presented the Lydian Armenia programs  being implemented. This is stated in the company's official  announcement.

ArmInfo. Hayk Aloyan,  Executive Director of Lydian Armenia, which operates Amulsar gold  deposit, joined the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of  Commerce of Armenia (AmCham). The company reports.

ArmInfo. The company  of  Lydian Armenia, which is engaged in the exploitation of the gold mine  Amulsar, develops cooperation with the official dealer of the company  Caterpillar in Armenia - the company Zeppelin. "We are acquiring a  fleet specially designed for the operation of Amulsar, which is the  largest contract in the history of Caterpillar," Hayk Aloyan,  executive director of Lydian Armenia, told journalists on November  17. The total cost of the car fleet is estimated at $ 65 million.

ArmInfo.Minister of Energy  Infrastructures and Natural Resources of Armenia Ashot Manukyan  received on November 9 the Commissioner for Trade and Investment of  the United Kingdom in Armenia, MP Mark Pritchard. Ambassador of the  United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Armenia  Judith Farnworth also took part in the meeting. The sides discussed  issues of cooperation in the energy and subsoil sectors.