YEREVAN. – Unless the decision on the Amulsar matter is final, I can’t say for sure what will be the further actions in this regard. Vladimir Karapetyan, Press Secretary of the Prime Minister, told this to reporters after Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the government of Armenia.

“[But] I can assure that the discussions are continuing, and that the relevant authorities will address the matter in the near future,” he added. “The Prime Minister had instructed the Ministry of Environment to prepare their outlook on [the need for] a new EIA [Environmental Impact Assessment regarding the Amulsar gold mine]. The minister has presented his outlook on that matter.”

To the remark that it is not clear from the official release whether there is a need for a new EIA, the Armenian PM’s spokesperson responded as follows: “A clear response isn’t given in our release because there is no final decision and no final idea.”

The American-British Lydian Armenia company began construction of the Amulsar gold mine in 2016, announcing it will invest more than $400 million in this project.

Environmentalists, however, have kept the roads to Amulsar closed for a long time. They oppose Amulsar’s operation, and argue that the exploitation of this gold mine will have a disastrous impact on the environment.

In 2019, the Armenian government petitioned to the ELARD consulting firm of Lebanon for an expert conclusion on Amulsar. The government announced that it will make a final decision on Amulsar’s operation only after receiving this conclusion.

Subsequently, the ELARD expert conclusion stated that environmental risks will be manageable if proper monitoring is carried out at Amulsar.

But following a recent videoconference with ELARD experts, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan wrote on Facebook that several new circumstances had emerged during this videoconference, and which need to be investigated and assessed.

And he instructed the Ministry of Environment to decide whether the Amulsar gold mine project needs to undergo a new EIA.