ArmInfo. President Serzh Sargsyan, who is in the United States on a working visit, in the framework of the Investment Forum held a meeting with President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydian International Howard Stevenson, the press-service of the Armenian President informs.
At the meeting President Serzh Sargsyan and President and Chief Executive Officer of Lydian International Howard Stevenson discussed issues related to the current operations carried out by the Lydian International - a leading company in the area of discovery and development of natural resources, particularly to the works carried out by the Company at the Amulsar mine and development programs. The President of the Lydian International, which is the hundred percent share holder of the Lydian Armenian, assured President Sargsyan that the major mining project, which is carried out in full compliance with the ecological requirements and international standards, will promote the development of the communities and Armenia's economic development in general and will have a positive impact on the country's GNP. Howard Stevenson underscored that his Company through its works is striving to prove that it is possible to develop mining industry with the modern technologies, which can be beneficial for all parties - the state, the private sector, and communities, and that Armenia is a country open for foreign investments.
To note, as of today Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia on developing gold deposit. In August this year ground-breaking ceremony for Lydian Armenia's Amulsar project took place, which envisaged launch of construction and field development. Preliminary work has been conducted since 2006. The mine life of the project is 10.4 year with the gold production averaging over 200,000 ounces per year (around 10 mln tons of ore). The Amulsar project envisages creation of 1,300 jobs in the course of construction, which will last for around 2 years and 650-700 jobs throughout the entire operation of the mine.
International investors IFC and EBRD are shareholders of the company. The company's shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Amulsar is the second largest deposit in Armenia in terms of the reserves.