Amulsar: Even "Responsible" Mining Is Destructive: PAEF

AMULSAR: EVEN “RESPONSIBLE” MINING IS DESTRUCTIVE: PAEF

17:18 | February 17,2015 | Economy

Lydian International Limited company, registered in an offshore zone,
presented a document entitled “Amulsar Project, November 2014â~@³ to
Armenians in the Diaspora. This document is superficial, misleading
and incomplete. This is what thinks Anahit Shirinian-Orlando, an
environmental scientist-engineer living in Los Angeles, who says No
to mining at Amulsar.

There is a complete absence of any hydrological study. For example,
there is no assessment of how the mining operation will affect the
quantity and quality of the water of Vorotan River, of Arpa River, all
the small streams on the slopes, as well as the Spandarian Reservoir.

In particular, I found the claim on page 9, “zero discharge into
environment” to be completely misleading. For one thing, the explosions
at the mine will cause earthquake tremors in the surrounding villages,
such that the houses will shake, and immense clouds of dust from these
explosions, as well as from rock crushing operations, (containing
toxic heavy metals, such as Arsenic, Cadmium, radioactive Uranium,
and many other heavy metals), will fill the air and the lungs of
the inhabitants, as well as settle on pastures, on streams, on all
surfaces, poisoning and killing slowly every living organism. (Just
look a little further, at Kajaran mine, and see how these explosions
are affecting the health and lives (shortening the life spans) of
the locals.

Heap-leach pad technology is nothing new (look here). The pad’s
integrity fails in time (cracks, etc.) and the cyanide leachate
contaminates the ground below and around the pad, thus, the
groundwater and/or nearby streams become contaminated with cyanides
and heavy metals (no one can guarantee that the 3mm geomembrane
layer placed at the bottom of the platform will not erase after a
few decades). Besides, the heap itself is subject to landslides.

Amulsar mountain formation has a water tunnel running along on one
side and a gas pipeline on the other, both will be compromised by
earthquake tremors from mine explosions.

Reading the document, it is not clear how much tax Lydian will pay
to the local government, as well as to the central government. For
example, Lydian should pay royalties to the government of Armenia,
as well as taxes and waste dumping fees. Furthermore, it is not clear
how much money will be allocated to reclamation after the mining ends.

Since reclamation is a capital-intensive operation, there should be
guarantees to the government that it will be performed at the end. One
such guarantee will be to deposit the capital allocated for reclamation
in a separate account to be used only for land reclamation after the
mining is over.

I can write more comments on the documernt. I just wish to remind
Lydian, that many members of the village communities of Gendevaz and
Jermuk are strongly opposed to mining. Also, there are profitable
alternatives to digging for gold and silver, such as constructing
a cheese producing factory and exporting delicious cheeses from the
pastures and grasslands of Amulsar.

It is the hope of people living in Armenia, as well as all Armenians,
that instead of mining, investors will shift their interest to
non-destructive enterprises, because even “responsible” mining is
destructive (even though it’s less destructive compared to previous
methods).

Pan -Armenian Environmental Front (PAEF)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress