YEREVAN. – If Lydian Armenia implements the 16 mitigation measures and the additional measures while operating the Amulsar gold mine, the environmental risks will be manageable. Yura Ivanyan, head of the Amulsar investigative team, noted about this at a press conference on Monday.
“The Lydian Armenia company had envisioned in its plan documents 10 of the 16 mitigation measures noted in the Amulsar mine expertise conclusion, which [the mitigation measures], if maintained, the environmental risks will become manageable,” he said.
Ivanyan said experts have come to the conclusion that no breach of Armenia’s national as well as international regulations has been recorded in terms of biodiversity and air quality management.
“That is, the impact on biodiversity has been assessed as satisfactory,” he said. “As for air quality assessment, the experts haven’t identified any serious problems that can’t be mitigated. That is, the impact of the [Amulsar] Project on air quality is manageable; all concerns that the dust [from the operation of the mine] will reach nearby settlements—including Jermuk [town]—are not substantiated.”
On August 14, the Investigative Committee of Armenia publicized the results of the comprehensive audit report which was commissioned to the Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) Lebanese consultancy firm, and regarding any likelihood of environmental risks from the exploitation of the Amulsar gold-bearing quartzite mine.
The results have showed that there are no paths for groundwater flow and transmission of pollution from the Amulsar Project area to the Jermuk thermal hot water springs, plus the impact on the Arpa, Darb and Vorotan rivers near the Amulsar area is uncertain because this impact is not quantifiable.
Also, the conclusion noted 16 points which, if maintained, will make the Amulsar mine-related environmental risks manageable.