ArmInfo "Lydian Armenia" company informs that it has filed a lawsuit against independent MP Arman Babajanyan for libel. This is stated in the statement of the company received by ArmInfo.
According to the source, in his last interview, Babajanyan, referring to the issue related to the Amulsar mine, which is being developed by Lydian, made statements that "the permits for the development of the mine were acquired by criminal means", as well as that <it was a criminal transaction carried out with representatives of the former corrupt government>.
"According to the company, these statements are slander, have nothing to do with reality, they are aimed at denigrating the company's business reputation. In fact, we can state that a number of persons representing various political forces, in order to discredit the business reputation of the "Lydian Armenia" company, spread misinformation about the Amulsar project. The latter tried to create negative sentiments or to please certain groups in order to receive political dividends through slander. Such statements have not only not been proven over the past two years, but in some cases the court as libel has already qualified them.
In the case of Arman Babajanyan, this fact of voicing irresponsible statements is more worrisome, since we are not talking about an activist or a protester, but about a MP representing the legislative power of the Republic of Armenia," the company said in a statement.
To note, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International. The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The life of the mine is 10 years and 4 months, with an average annual production of 200 thousand ounces of gold planned. The Amulsar mine is the second largest in Armenia.
According to the company, the mine contains about 73,733 kg of gold with an average grade of 0.78 g per tonne, as well as 294,367 tons of silver with an average grade of 9.29 g per tonne. It is located in the southeast 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 development of the mine may lead to the pollution of the mineral underground waters of Jermuk and Lake Sevan. Taking this into account, since the year before last, the approaches to the mine have been closed by local residents and environmental activists.