New evidence obtained in Amulsar gold mine case
30.10.2019,
18:58
New evidence was obtained by the investigators who are looking into the Amulsar gold mine case, which could change the direction of the investigation, Chairman of the Investigative Committee Hayk Grigoryan told reporters on Wednesday.
YEREVAN, October 30. /ARKA/. New evidence was obtained by the investigators who are looking into the Amulsar gold mine case, which could change the direction of the investigation, Chairman of the Investigative Committee Hayk Grigoryan told reporters on Wednesday.
He said in fact, there are three investigation blocks. The first one deals with the issue of timely verification of the final expert opinion by the Ministry of Nature Protection. 'We need to find out the reasons why the information noted in the report was not verified, or was not verified adequately,” he said.
Grigoryan said also experts from EarthLink & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD), commissioned by the government to study the case, need to be interrogated,
"They need to give explanations. In the near future we will invite them for questioning about their conclusion," he said.
Grigoryan did not rule out that the interests of some people could have influenced ELARD's conclusion, while the Ministry of Nature Protection did not thoroughly study and verify the data provided.
“The conclusion can be based on information obtained from relevant expert centers. The minister could only approve it or not,” he said.
The development of the Amulsar project has been at a standstill for over a year due to local blockades. In July 2018, Lydian Armenia had been granted the exclusive right to develop the Amulsar gold deposit in the southeastern Armenian province of Vayots Dzor, filed a complaint in support of a criminal investigation against activists at the blockades, which was later upheld in court.
That same month, a criminal investigation was opened into whether Armenian public officials had withheld information regarding potential environmental damage at Amulsar. The Armenian authorities allocated nearly $400,000 to Lebanon-based Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) for an independent review of the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) as part of that investigation.
The independent review was published in September. Referring to it Prime Minister Pashinyan appeared to permit the mine to go ahead despite protests in Jermuk and Yerevan. However, several days later Pashinyan requested that Armenia’s Ministry of Environment decide whether a further environmental impact assessment (EIA) was required for the Amulsar project.
On August 28, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a videoconference with representatives of ELARD and Lydian Armenia, following which he said new circumstances turned out which need to be studies and evaluated.
An ELARD expert pointed out the need for a new study based on updated data, noting the inadequacy of the mitigation measures proposed by Lydian and the need to review the environmental impact assessment.
Lydian Armenia, established in 2005 and owned by Lydian International LLC, extract gold in Armenia. The Amulsar Gold Mine program is the company's first project in Armenia. The Amulsar is the second biggest gold field, which contains 31 million tons of gold ore and 40 tons of a pure gold. It sits in the south-eastern area of Armenia, 13 kilometers from Jermuk. -0-
He said in fact, there are three investigation blocks. The first one deals with the issue of timely verification of the final expert opinion by the Ministry of Nature Protection. 'We need to find out the reasons why the information noted in the report was not verified, or was not verified adequately,” he said.
Grigoryan said also experts from EarthLink & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD), commissioned by the government to study the case, need to be interrogated,
"They need to give explanations. In the near future we will invite them for questioning about their conclusion," he said.
Grigoryan did not rule out that the interests of some people could have influenced ELARD's conclusion, while the Ministry of Nature Protection did not thoroughly study and verify the data provided.
“The conclusion can be based on information obtained from relevant expert centers. The minister could only approve it or not,” he said.
The development of the Amulsar project has been at a standstill for over a year due to local blockades. In July 2018, Lydian Armenia had been granted the exclusive right to develop the Amulsar gold deposit in the southeastern Armenian province of Vayots Dzor, filed a complaint in support of a criminal investigation against activists at the blockades, which was later upheld in court.
That same month, a criminal investigation was opened into whether Armenian public officials had withheld information regarding potential environmental damage at Amulsar. The Armenian authorities allocated nearly $400,000 to Lebanon-based Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) for an independent review of the project’s environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) as part of that investigation.
The independent review was published in September. Referring to it Prime Minister Pashinyan appeared to permit the mine to go ahead despite protests in Jermuk and Yerevan. However, several days later Pashinyan requested that Armenia’s Ministry of Environment decide whether a further environmental impact assessment (EIA) was required for the Amulsar project.
On August 28, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan held a videoconference with representatives of ELARD and Lydian Armenia, following which he said new circumstances turned out which need to be studies and evaluated.
An ELARD expert pointed out the need for a new study based on updated data, noting the inadequacy of the mitigation measures proposed by Lydian and the need to review the environmental impact assessment.
Lydian Armenia, established in 2005 and owned by Lydian International LLC, extract gold in Armenia. The Amulsar Gold Mine program is the company's first project in Armenia. The Amulsar is the second biggest gold field, which contains 31 million tons of gold ore and 40 tons of a pure gold. It sits in the south-eastern area of Armenia, 13 kilometers from Jermuk. -0-
