Wednesday, March 1 2023 20:36

ArmInfo. A number of public organizations in Armenia opposed the development of the Amulsar gold  mine. In their statement, received by ArmInfo, representatives of  public organizations considered the tripartite memorandum of  understanding signed on February 22 between the government of the  Republic of Armenia, the Eurasian Development Bank and Lydian Armenia  CJSC as illegal, short-sighted, irresponsible, adventurous and  dangerous.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia did not ensure  the conduct of a full environmental impact assessment, the negative  impact on the drainage basins of Lake Sevan, the Arpa and Vorotan  rivers, the Spandaryan and Kechut reservoirs, groundwater, and  long-term pollution of surface and groundwater due to acid drainage  were not taken into account. The Cabinet of Ministers also ignored  the risks associated with the presence of radioactive elements in the  Amulsar mine - uranium, thorium, radon, environmental pollution with  dust containing a huge amount of toxic elements. In addition, the  risks associated with the use of cyanide technology, which is banned  in a number of countries around the world, are not taken into  account.

According to them, the city of Jermuk will lose its importance as an  international resort. The city, in their opinion, will turn into a  working city, the inhabitants of which will eventually emigrate, and  the workers will leave the mine after the end of its development.  They recalled the statement of the Minister of Health of the Republic  of Armenia, who stated that the restart of the Amulsar project is not  hazardous to health and has passed the relevant expert examinations,  which is not true, since the EIA examination could not be carried out  in practice, since there is no appropriate methodology. The possible  negative impact on "Jermuk" mineral water as well as international  obligations taken in the field of biodiversity protection in  connection with the Berne Convention are not taken into account. The  opinion of the population of local communities and the public  opposing the Amulsar project is not taken into account. Also, the RA  government did not take into account the aggressive actions of  Azerbaijan on September 13, 2022, during which Jermuk was bombed. By  attracting the Eurasian Development Bank to finance the Amulsar  project, the Cabinet of Ministers did not assess the economic and  political risks for the Republic of Armenia in the context of Western  sanctions against Russia. <Instead of pursuing the restoration of the  once prosperous border resort town of Jermuk, strengthening community  resilience and border security, the RA government prefers to finally  sacrifice Jermuk and its well-established socio-economic system for  the sake of 10-11 years of development of the mine and revenues to  the state budget of several dozen billion drams, as well as the  enrichment of several dubious offshore companies>, the statement  says.