Thursday, February 23 2023 16:47

ArmInfo. I am sure that all new technological possibilities will be used for the safe operation of the mine, which will meet high international standards. Minister  of Health of Armenia Anahit Avanesyan stated  during a briefing on  February 23, answering a question regarding the restart of the  Amulsar project.

At the same time, the minister expressed confidence that all the  necessary studies for the operation of the mine have been carried  out, and in the future, enhanced monitoring of the project will be  carried out.

Answering a question regarding risks, Avanesyan noted that the  Ministry constantly monitors possible risks related to public health  due to the exploitation of deposits, and periodically makes  assessments in connection with the situation.

It should be noted that yesterday, on February 21, the Government of  the Republic of Armenia, Lydian Armenia CJSC and the Eurasian  Development Bank (EDB) signed a memorandum of understanding, which  marked the restart of the program for the development of the Amulsar  mine. Within the framework of the memorandum, as Minister of Economy  Vahan Kerobyan said,  $150 million will be invested, of which $100  million will be EDB loans, $50 million will be provided by a local  bank, and an additional $100 million will be invested outside the  agreement, Minister noted disclosing the source of funding. "The  funds will be used to complete construction work at the mine and  purchase the necessary equipment," he said.

Since the end of 2018, the Amulsar gold mine has been blocked by  environmental activists. Construction work on it had to be suspended.   In March 2022, Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan noted  that if nothing interferes, the work of the Amulsar gold mine will be  resumed, referring to the department's program of measures, which  contains a provision on solving the Amulsar problem.  Earlier, before  the change of beneficiaries, Lydian Armenia was a subsidiary of the  British offshore Lydian International, which placed shares on the  Toronto Stock Exchange. Then the company went through the process of  delisting. As a result of the restructuring, the full stake in the  company was transferred to the newly established Lydian Canada  Ventures, owned by the U.S. firm Orion Mine Finance, and the Canadian  company Osisko Gold Royalties.  The total cost of the Amulsar project  is $370 million. The estimated period of operation of the mine is 10  years and 4 months, while it is planned to produce an average of 200  thousand ounces of gold annually.  The field is the second largest in  Armenia.  According to the company, the deposit contains about 73,733  kg of gold with an average grade of 0.78 g per ton, as well as  294,367 tons of silver with an average grade of 9.29 g per ton. It is  located in the south- east of the country, 13 km from the resort town  of Jermuk, in the interfluve of the Arpa and Vorotan rivers.