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    Categories: 2019

Lydian warns: Armenian government bears full responsibility for possible environmental degradation at Amulsar deposit

Arminfo, Armenia
Feb 18 2019
Alexandr Avanesov

ArmInfo.The Armenian government bears full responsibility for the deterioration of the environment, water and air in the Amulsar field in case any  environmental problem occurs. This is stated in the warning of  "Lydian" company received by the ArmInfo.

 According to the source,  since June 2018, Lydian, because of the blockade of roads, has not  been able to resume work at the Amulsar field. Not only the  construction work was not carried out, but also the construction of  protective environmental protection systems, in order to manage  erosion due to heavy spring precipitation and surface water, in  accordance with the conditions and permits issued to the company.  Lydian informed the government that the company was not responsible  for any environmental problems, including the exclusion of surface  waters, the occurrence of which was the result of the government's  inability to take measures to eliminate the illegal blockade from  June 2018.

"Lydian" has repeatedly applied to the government to take the  necessary actions. This winter, heavy snowfall was recorded at the  Amulsar deposit. Under the conditions of illegal blocking, it was not  possible to build systems to prevent the appearance of surface water.  These activities had to be  carried out before snowfall. In the event  of resumption of work, it will take months to complete the  construction of water management systems. In this situation, the  Armenian government bears full responsibility for the deterioration  of the environment, water and air in the Amulsar field in case any  environmental problem occurs, the company warns. 

To note over the recent six months, protest actions were held against  several mining companies, including the Amulsar program, protesters  blocked roads and created obstacles for employees. The protests  against the Amulsar project led to a confrontation with the staff of  Lydian Armenia, who demanded that the protesters not interfere with  their right to work. Participants in the protest declared that there  are environmental problems, which the company refutes.

Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International, whose  shareholders are major international institutional investors. The  Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia today  for the development of the Amulsar gold deposit, with a total value  of $ 370 million. Preparatory work has been going on since 2006. The  life of the Amulsar deposit should have been 10 years and 4 months;  it was planned to mine an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold  (about 10 million tons of ore) annually. The Amulsar program  envisaged the creation of 1,300 jobs during construction  (construction work will last about 2 years) and 650-700 jobs during  the entire field operation.

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