ArmInfo. In order for Jermuk to maintain its status as a resort and health city, appropriate conditions must be provided not only within the city, but also its circumference. This opinion was expressed by Edgar Ghazaryan, former Ambassador of the Republic of Armenia to Poland, now the head of the apparatus of the Constitutional Court, former governor of Vayots Dzor region (2012-2014) in an interview with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.
According to Ghazaryan, in addition to other negative effects, it must be understood that the operation of the mine involves about 10-25 explosions daily, which is about 25 tons of dust. In this context, according to the head of the Constitutional Court's apparatus, no matter what the examination would say, this effect on the resort and health town cannot be ignored. "Jermuk is the only resort and health resort city of national importance, which means that within a radius of 50-60 km the heavy metal industry is not allowed (the Amulsar gold mine is 10 kilometers in a straight line from Jermuk, Ed. note)," Ghazaryan said.
In addition, as the former governor pointed out, despite the fact that, perhaps, the company operating the Amulsar mine compares favorably with others by a higher level of social responsibility, it must be remembered that initially the same Kajaran was built as a mine, and only then settlements created around the mine. "In the meantime, Jermuk was created as a health resort city, and the development of a mine in the neighborhood will cause permanent damage to the city," he said.
To recall, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan visited Jermuk today in order to ascertain the mood of the people regarding the development program of the Amulsar gold mine. 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 chose the city precisely because of its spa and wellness character, and if the mine is developed in the immediate vicinity, it is unlikely that they will visit Jermuk next time.
To recall, on August 14, the Investigative Committee of Armenia presented an expert opinion on the Amulsar project of the consulting company Earthlink & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD). Based on the conclusion of the examination, the IC of Armenia stated that there is no direct connection between the underground waters located on the territory of the Amulsar project and the thermal hot springs of Jermuk. There is also no connection with the waters of the Sevan basin. Moreover, as indicated in the IC, during an earthquake, a certain concentration of acid drainage can penetrate into the basin of Lake Sevan through the Spandaryan and Ketchut reservoirs. However, the combination of this concentration will be insignificant on the scale of Lake Sevan. The third important conclusion: the impact on the Arpa, Vorotan and Darb rivers can be mitigated if Lydian Armenia takes 16 environmental mitigation measures proposed by experts. As the head of the IC Hayk Grigoryan pointed out, Lydian Armenia representatives have already expressed their readiness to implement 15 of the proposed 16 measures: they are already carrying out 10 measures, 5 will be ready to conduct them in the near future. Residents of the resort town of Jermuk, environmentalists and activists opposed to the development of the mine did not agree with the conclusions and came out to protest.
On August 21, during the promised "live broadcast," the Prime Minister gave approval to the development of the Amulsar mine. According to him, the Armenian government will conduct constant monitoring during the development of the Amulsar mine. "Today, according to our clear data, Amulsar does not harm Sevan. It will work according to the highest environmental criteria. If we do not fulfill the conditions set by us, they will not take us seriously. I am 99.9% sure that the mine does not pose a threat to the environment of the RA. Therefore , we must fulfill the conditions that we set, "he said, concluding by expressing bewilderment by the protest actions of disobedience arranged by citizens.