Amulsar gold mine reopening expected by yearend

The Amulsar gold mine will be reopened and operations will start in the end of 2025, Lydian Armenia CEO Hayk Aloyan has said.

Aloyan, the founding chief executive of Lydian Armenia, the operator of the mine, said that construction would start in spring. “250 million dollars in investments will be made, from which 150 million dollars will be allocated through local banks, while our company will invest the rest. This is not about any difficulties pertaining to technical work of reopening it, but the fact that our project had been halted for seven years, and it was already nearly 80% completed, and it must finally be implemented,” Aloyan said, adding that the technical work for reopening the mine is not difficult.

Aloyan said his company will become one of the top corporate taxpayers in the country when the gold mine starts to work. He said the company would pay some 120 million dollars in taxes annually, making it the second or third top taxpayer. 750 direct jobs and 4000 indirect jobs will be opened, he said.

In terms of employment, the enterprise will be highly significant for Vayots Dzor and Syunik provinces by carrying out social programs, he said, adding that Lydian Armenia has an obligation to provide support to three nearby communities of the mine. Lydian Armenia will ensure economic improvement in the two provinces for 20-25 years, he said.

The Lydian Armenia CEO reiterated that the company’s operations align with environmental standards. He said that the project has been subjected to numerous environmental inspections and audits for seven years. He said Lydian Armenia has the best Environmental impact assessment (EIA).

“We are spending a lot of money on monitoring, which is highly important in terms of environmental protection. We will spend significant amounts of money in order to closely monitor and never deviate from the outlined environmental path,” he said, adding that international partners will visit Armenia during the year to present the safety standards to the population. Aloyan said the company will regularly invite local NGOs, environmentalists and government bodies to visit the area and make inspections in a transparent and open process.

Lydian Armenia will also focus on high safety standards for employees.

Earlier in January, the Armenian economy minister said that Amulsar gold mine operations would be vital for Armenia. 

Minister of Environment Hakob Simidyan said in January that Lydian Armenia has all the necessary permits to operate the Amulsar mine.