Lydian: Claim on invalidation of EIA for Amulsar development program  rejected by Armenian Administrative Court

ArmInfo.  The claim to  invalidate the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) under the  Amulsar gold mine development program was rejected by the  Administrative Court of Armenia. This is stated in the comments of  the Lidian Armenia company developing the field.

 According to the  source, the claim for invalidation of the EIA was submitted by the  Minister of the Environment. According to Lidian Armenia, "the  court's argument is important in the context of ongoing illegal  actions around the Amulsar project. According to a group of people,  allegedly" new environmental factors "identified could invalidate the  April 2016 EIA. However, dismissing the lawsuit, the Administrative  Court found that the evidence presented is not "new environmental  factors", and cannot serve as the basis for invalidating the current  expert opinion of the EIA. In particular, this refers to the  controversial conclusion of the Ellard company, which, by order of  the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia, conducted an  expert assessment of the EIA, presented by the Ministry of the  Environment to the Prime Minister's office with justification of 13  points, as well as an independent examination commissioned by Arut  Bronozyan .

The current president and chief executive officer of Lydian  International Edward Sellers of this connection, said: "This news is  especially important in terms of the veracity of Elard's dubious  report and letter from the Minister of the Environment. Lydian  International EIA is fully consistent with Armenian and international  standards and is designed in accordance with the best international  We value the fact that the court upheld the legality of the EIA, and  the trial is further evidence of attempts to impede Lydian's legal  right to develop implementation of the Amulsar project. The Prime  Minister of Armenia has repeatedly made statements confirming that  there are no legal grounds that would prevent the company from  completing the construction of the project and using it in the  interests of the state. The Prime Minister of Armenia urged to  abandon blocking roads and restore free access to the mine's  territory. Nevertheless, the illegal checkpoint continues to this  day. "

It should be noted that earlier Minister of Environment of the  Republic of Armenia Eric Grigoryan, expressing his personal opinion  as an Armenian citizen, said that he opposed the development of  mining deposits, including the mine at Amulsar, which is an important  health resort region with reserves of not only mineral water. For the  long-term development of the country's economy, there are other areas  - ecotourism, information technology, efficient use of forests, etc.  However, as the minister, Eric Grigoryan noted, he should focus on  those licenses and permits that have already been issued. At the same  time, he emphasized that he had some concerns about the correctness  of the conclusions submitted by the Ellard expert company on the  Amulsar project, which revealed a number of inconsistencies. These  discrepancies have already been submitted to the Inspectorate for  Subsoil and to law enforcement agencies, and if confirmed, the  criteria for assessing the environmental impact can significantly  change. The organization responsible for providing accurate  information is responsible for it. And if one of the parties, whether  it is a state body or Lidian Armenia company, comes out with  unverified data, this will have serious consequences for one of the  parties.

Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian  International. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370  million. The field's life is 10 years and 4 months, with an average  of 200 thousand ounces of gold being mined annually. Amulsar field is  the second largest reserves in Armenia. According to the company, the  deposit contains about 73733 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, between the rivers Arpa and Vorotan.  Environmentalists and ordinary citizens are concerned that the  operation of the mine could lead to the pollution of the mineral  underground waters of Jermuk and Lake Sevan.