We are relieved that the Audit Report has been made public. Edward Sellers, Interim President & CEO of Lydian, which operates the Amulsar gold mine in Armenia, noted this in connection with the findings of this report on the Amulsar Project.

“We are relieved that the Audit Report has been made public, as the Government of Armenia has repeatedly conditioned Lydian’s ability to advance the Amulsar Project on its results,” Sellers noted. “We look forward to reading the full text of the Audit Report and are confident it will confirm Lydian’s prudential approach to environmental stewardship.  We are also heartened to know that there are no grounds for criminal prosecution or the continuation of criminal proceedings against Lydian relating to the Audit Report.”

“It has been a tough year for many thousands of direct and indirect stakeholders in the Amulsar Project,” Sellers continued.  “We want to thank our employees, contractors, suppliers, communities, lenders, shareholders and other supporters who believed in Lydian throughout the process.”

As per the statement which Lydian has released, it has always stressed that it operates in Armenia in accordance with its mining permits, which were granted based on a comprehensive Environmental Impact Assessment approval process. Nevertheless, Lydian’s Amulsar Project has been subject to three full-scale environmental audits since July last year. Lydian has fully cooperated with all audits.

The Government of Armenia has previously indicated it would be ready to conclude on the Audit Report this week.