ArmInfo.Residents of the villages of Saravan and Gorayk, Vayots Dzor region of Armenia support the implementation of the Amulsar mine development project. They announced this on August 23 during a meeting with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
As one of the residents of the village of Goraik stated, perhaps some residents of the village are against the development of the mine, but the main part is for. According to him, they consider the program as an employment opportunity. According to Gorayk residents, "for a country in a state of war with a poor economy, it is impermissible luxury to abandon the economic potential of the project." Already today, as he pointed out, 30 villagers are working in the Lydian Armenia, which develops the Amulsar gold mine.
Another resident of the village immediately complained that there were no representatives of the village of Gorayk among the Lydian leadership. "There is no one hundred percent safe mining industry." But, if risk can be managed, the mine must be exploited, "said the third. The latter, as it turned out, is a" second specialty "as a geologist, and he received his education thanks to financial support from Lydian "
It should be noted that today Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan visited Jermuk in connection with the protests of the residents of the city against the development of the Amulsar gold mine. The latter is located 10 kilometers in a straight line from Jermuk. Residents of the city categorically told the prime minister that they insisted: "Jermuk should remain a resort city, Amulsar - without a mine." Many tourists and guests of the city, in an interview with the Prime Minister, noted that they had chosen the city precisely because of its spa and wellness significance, and if the mine is developed in the immediate vicinity, they are unlikely to visit Jermuk next time.
As the former Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Poland, now the head of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court(to note, in 2012-2014 he held the post of governor of Vayots Dzor region), Edgar Ghazaryan stated to the Prime Minister, Jermuk will lose the status of a health resort city if the Amulsar mine is developed, since it was created as a health resort city, and the development of a mine in the neighborhood will cause irreparable damage to the city. It was reported that after Jermuk, the head of government was going to visit the Gndevaz community, which is the zone of direct impact of the project, but Pashinyan visited to the villages of Saravan and Gorayk. According to the Jermuk residents, the latter are interested in implementing the mine development program, because they believe that because of their location they are safe from risks, and the Amulsar mine does not pose any immediate danger to them, and if it is developed, jobs for village residents can be created. Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of British Lydian International. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The mine's life will be 10 years and 4 months, with an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold being mined annually. Amulsar mine is the second largest reserves in Armenia.