The person who operates the Amulsar gold mine may become the country’s number one taxpayer. This is what newly appointed Minister of Economy of Armenia Vahan Kerobyan said during the “Facebook press conference” show aired on RFE/RL, talking about the plans to ensure high economic growth for Armenia in the future.

During the show, a Facebook user asked the minister for his opinion on operation of the Amulsar gold mine, to which Kerobyan said he hadn’t seen a report on the environmental damages that operation of the Amulsar gold mine will cause and added that he knows about damages and the benefits.

Talking about the operation of mines in Armenia in general and bringing the example of Sotk gold mine, the minister stated the following: “We saw how citizens of Armenia caused uproar when we lost the fourth taxpayer of Armenia, but we’re not letting the potential top taxpayer operate Amulsar gold mine.”