YEREVAN. – During the meeting with the majority My Step faction at the National Assembly (NA), the matter of the Amulsar gold mine was discussed, views were heard, and the current situation was presented. NA Vice President Alen Simonyan told about this to reporters, after Friday’s closed meeting at the headquarters of the ruling Civil Contract party of Armenia.
“[But] there is no conclusion,” he added. “There is no disagreement [either]. Primarily, it’s about, ‘Why is this like this? What do you think about this? What will we do in this case?’
“The matter is in the domain of the government, it has to make a decision, and the [My Step] faction is the political support which has been and will remain.”
As for the fact that there are My Step faction deputies who are against the operation of the Amulsar mine, Simonyan said as follows, in particular: “These discussions are precisely for that we listen to people, our colleagues, and make the right decision for Armenia.
“This is a working discussion so that we clarify which decision is the most correct.”
Simonyan informed that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had spoken first at this meeting, subsequently, the MPs had asked questions, and both Pashinyan and deputy PM Tigran Avinyan had responded to these queries.
“It’s not ruled out that the mine will not be operated at all,” he said. “And it’s not ruled out that the mine will start operating.”
The deputy speaker of Armenia’s parliament added that the discussion of this matter can continue until they are sure that they are making the right decision.
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.
