If there is at least 0.1 percent doubt that Jermuk and Lake Sevan will be devastated by operation of the Amulsar gold mine, the gold mine will not be operated. This is what deputy of the My Step faction of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan said during a briefing with journalists in front of the office of the Civil Contract Party today.

When asked how the authorities are disposed towards the future operation of the mine, Simonyan said the following:

“There is no disposition towards the future operation of the mine, but there is logic. This is a situation where the study shows one thing, but environmental activists tend to differ. During and after the election campaign, it was stated that if there is at least 0.1 percent doubt that operation of the Amulsar gold mine will devastate Jermuk and Lake Sevan, that mine will not be operated.”

Touching upon the meeting devoted to the Amulsar gold mine issue with deputies of the My Step faction, the deputy said there were people who supported the gold mine operation and people who didn’t and that the main idea was that if there will be 0.1% damage to the basin of Lake Sevan, the mine will not be operated.

As reported earlier, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday met with Jermuk town residents and environmentalists, to discuss the matter of whether the Amulsar gold mine should resume operations.  Subsequently, Pashinyan met with members of the majority My Step faction in parliament, and regarding the same matter.

The Investigative Committee of Armenia has publicized the results of the comprehensive audit report which was commissioned to the Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) Lebanese consultancy firm, and regarding any likelihood of environmental risks from the exploitation of the Amulsar gold-bearing quartzite mine of Armenia.

And as a result of this audit report, 16 points were noted in its conclusion, and which, if maintained, would make this mine’s environmental risks manageable.