Green activists hold a protest against the development of Amulsar
Green activists hold a protest against the development of Amulsar
ArmInfo.. On August 20 in the evening, a protest action of green activists started in front of the RA Government against the development of the Amulsar mine. Earlier, protesters marched along the central streets of Yerevan; residents...
ArmInfo.. On August 20 in the evening, a protest action of green activists started in front of the RA Government against the development of the Amulsar mine. Earlier, protesters marched along the central streets of Yerevan; residents of
the city of Jermuk, who moved towards the capital this afternoon,
also joined them.
The main demand of the protesters is to invalidate the draft EIA
(environmental impact assessment). For over two years now, Jermuk
residents have been closing the approaches to the mine, since the
development of the mine can have an extremely negative effect on the
ecology of Jermuk, which was granted the status of a health resort
city during the Soviet era. In addition, with the positive conclusion
of the EIA, numerous risks were not taken into account, including for
the Kechut reservoir and the Sevan basin.
Ecologist Levon Galstyan emphasized that the fight against the
development of Amulsar has been ongoing since 2012. Earlier, the
Armenian government promised to reconsider its position on Amulsar if
the fears of environmentalists are confirmed by the results of an
international study. By order of the Government of the Republic of
Armenia, the corresponding study was carried out in 2019 by Elard,
which then noted in its conclusion that it is impossible to clearly
answer the question regarding the safe development of the Amulsar
mine with the available documentation. "All the problems raised
earlier by ecologists were confirmed by the study of Elard," Galstyan
said.
The protesters had posters with the following requirements: " As long
as we exist, there are no mines,", "Close the mines - save lives".
Jermuk residents demand a final solution to the problem, noting that
their actions have no political overtones, but their desire is not to
allow the city-resort to turn into a city mine. They also note that
they will continue their actions to protect Amulsar, including by
blocking the roads leading to the mine by cars. Arman Khachatryan, a
participant in the road trip, also said that the security
organization of Lydian Armenia today tried to use violence against
the citizens who blocked the road to the mine.
The total cost of the Amulsar project is $ 370 million. The life of
the deposit is 10 years and 4 months, with an average annual
production of 200 thousand ounces of gold planned. To note, Lydian
Armenia is a subsidiary of the British offshore Lydian International.
Environmentalists and ordinary citizens are concerned that the
development of the mine may lead to the pollution of the mineral
underground waters of Jermuk and Lake Sevan. In addition to the water
basin, the public is also concerned about the possible presence of
uranium manifestations at the deposit. Environmentalists and
activists demand that the positive conclusion on the EIA project be
invalidated, since it was adopted with legislative violations, and
the document itself contains problems and shortcomings. Earlier, the
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced the
completion of its participation in the project for the development of
the Amulsar mine.