Yerevan July 12
Alina Hovhannisyan. As a result of the complaints submitted by the activists against Lydian Armenia in the Office of the Advocate's Advisor on Compliance, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during his visit to Vayots Dzor, was informed that the Amulsar Program did not properly assess the impact of the field's operation on the tourist brand Jermuk, and that the International Finance Corporation (IFC) refused to finance the project due to the identified environmental problems by the Office. "This statement is not true", is noted in the official statement of the company Lydian Armenia.
"IFC never announced the withdrawal from Amulsar project due to environmental problems. Moreover, IFC in its statement notes that the assessment of the impact of the Amulsar project on the environment corresponds to the best international experience, emphasizing that the introduction of new standards in the mining industry of Armenia is an achievement," is noted in the source with reference to the IFC statement. However, the exit from the shareholders of the Amulsar project by the International Finance Corporation is due to the fact that Lydian Armenia is successfully attracting funds for the development of the field from private sources: "We are confident that the implementation of the Amulsar program has the potential to contribute to the economic development of the country."
Moreover, at the request of ArmInfo to the IFC Central Office about the reasons for the company's withdrawal from the shareholders of Lydian Int., the press service reported: "Since 2007, IFC has been supporting Lydian and Amulsar gold mining project as part of a strategy to support the development of the mining sector in Armenia. Considering Lydian's success in fully funding the project, in May 2017, IFC refused its investment in the company, as we seek to use our capital where it is most needed for sustainable economic development."
According to the company, the prime minister was not informed intentionally that the majority of the statements made by the protesters, particularly those concerning the pollution of the waters of Sevan, Vorotan and Jermuk, etc., were refuted as a result of the Office's investigations. The report of the Office noted that all these issues are appropriate in a way, they were evaluated, moreover, measures are provided in accordance with IFC standards. "The head of government should be informed that the impact of the program on surface and groundwaters has been properly assessed and the activities according to IFC criteria have been designed. Therefore, allegations of water pollution are inappropriate," the company said in a statement.
Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International, whose shareholders are also large international institutional investors from the United States, Great Britain, a number of European countries, including EBRD. The Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia for the development of the Amulsar gold deposit at a total cost of $ 370 million. In August 2016, a project for the construction and development of the field was launched. Preliminary work has been carried out since 2006. The life of the Amulsar deposit will be 10 years and 4 months, an annual average of 200,000 ounces of gold (about 10 million tons of ore) is planned. The company's shares are quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar deposit is the second largest in Armenia.