ArmInfo. Due to the illegal blockade of roads leading to the Amulsar deposit, over the past 6 months, 1,300 people (of whom 460 are residents of communities surrounding the mine) were employed by Lydian, and its contracting companies lost their jobs.
This is stated in the official communication of the company.According to the source, Lydian continues to monitor the social situation in the communities, which is a component of the company's social responsibility. The monitoring also includes migration indicators, which were collected on the basis of data provided by employment centers, community elders and employees of the company's social group.
According to the data obtained, the outflow of the population for the period starting from the time of the blockade of roads to this day increased annually, whereas during the period of construction work on the Amulsar deposit in Gndevaz, Goraik and Saravan communities there were no cases of migration. So, at the end of 2018, 6 people migrated from the community of Gndevaz, 12 from Saravan. Migrants on a permanent basis from Jermuk, there are 64 people, against 34 people in the same period a year earlier.
However, along with the completion of construction work, seasonal migration has increased in all 4 communities. According to the data received, the number of temporarily migrated citizens for seasonal work from Jermuk was 219 people, against 80 people a year earlier in the same period.The blockade of Amulsar roads not only led to the loss of several hundred direct jobs, but also had a negative impact on indirect jobs in these communities: <During 2017, contractor companies in the communities made purchases of $ 200 thousand (food, fuel, transport and hotel services, etc.). These ongoing significant financial flows created significant opportunities for local business growth, expansion and job creation. And since June 2018, due to the illegal blockade of roads, this possibility has disappeared>, the report says.Recall that Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International, whose shareholders are also major international institutional investors from the United States, Great Britain, and a number of European countries, including the EBRD.
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. In August 2016, the project for the construction and development of the deposit was launched. Preparatory work has been going on since 2006. The life of the Amulsarsky deposit will be 10 years and 4 months, with an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold (about 10 million tons of ore) planned annually. The stock is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar deposit is the second largest reserves in Armenia.Note that since June 2018. The roads leading to the Amulsar deposit are closed by a group of people opposing the mine.