YEREVAN, September 10. /ARKA/. Armenia's law gives a clear specification of commissioning of ore fields and gives all grounds for preventive measures, Nazeli Vardanyan, a lawyer, told Azatutyun TV commenting on Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's statement that there are no reasons or legal grounds for terminating the development of Amulsar gold field.
The premier also stressed that monitoring will be conducted here regularly to prevent any violation of norms. If something wrong is found in the company's activity, a warning will be issues with the demand to put things right. If the company doesn't comply with the demand, then it will be possible to strip it of its license.
"According to the present law, if the planned activity is not carried out within one year after receiving the expert conclusion, then the environmental conclusion loses its validity, and more than that – the document loses its validity if new circumstances of impact on environment appear," Nazeli Vardanyan said in her televised interview.
In her words, the expert opinion to which Lydian Armenia refers has lost its validity yet on April 30,2017, and the expert examination conducted by компании Earth Lnk & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) Company called it into question once again.
"The law specifies that the concept "new circumstances" implies not only natural disasters, but also the facts found out by experts, and it is natural that appearance of this information prompts a new expert examination and conclusion," Vardanyan said.
She finds it wrong to make a final decision on the gold field development without a new environmental examination, since it would be made in a clear breach of the law.
The lawyer also pointed out that the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case over the fact of suppressing the truth exactly because of new circumstances, particularly because of a mistake found out in the protective clay layer that covers the accumulation of cyanide.
"Lydian Armenia has already showed that it is not a reliable entrepreneur and that it deceived the Armenian government for more than one decade by providing false data about safety of its activity. There are many facts of irregularities that have been noticed even by ELARD, and its representatives pointed out them at a skype conference," she said.
Nazeli Vardanyan found Jermuk residents' protests justified. She said they has a right to protect their environment.
In her opinion, arguments presented to the prime minister against the development of Amulsar gold field have been not so clear and comprehensive.
"The premier's statement was surprising to us despite all the arguments presented by environmentalists and lawyers," Vardanyan said. "We though that the government would admit at least some of them and the decision would be reasonable, but the statement put experts and the country's population, as a whole, into a tight corner."
Vardanyan stressed that by its decision, the government assumes the whole responsibility for the development of the gold field and for Jermuk residents' safety.
"The company is responsible only before the examination, but in the event of positive conclusion, the whole responsibility is borne by the government," she said in her televised interview.
In February 2019 the Armenian government decided to allocate USD 396,900 from its reserve fund to Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) for carrying out a comprehensive expert examination of the Amulsar project. The mine's operation was ceased.
Lydian is a gold developer focused on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. However, illegal blockades have prevented access to Amulsar since late June 2018. Amulsar is expected to be a large-scale, low-cost operation with production targeted to average approximately 225,000 ounces annually over an initial 10-year mine life.
Estimated mineral resources contain 3.5 million measured and indicated gold ounces and 1.3 million inferred gold ounces as outlined in the Q1 2017 Technical Report. Existing mineral resources beyond current reserves and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. Lydian is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. -0—-