Lydian International will contribute to development of the local labor market, Didier Fohlen, Executive Vice President at Lydian International Limited, said at the March 26 international conference entitled "Responsible Mining in Armenia: Opportunities and Challenges".
He recalled that the company is implementing development programs for a number of rural communities adjacent to the Amulsar deposit. In addition, the company is shortly going to conduct personnel retraining, which will allow developing the local labor market.
As regards the Amulsar project, Fohlen pointed out that the project was worked out with due regard for the social and environmental aspects. In addition, the development of the Amulsar deposit will have no negative effect on Lake Sevan. He also urged the public to take an active part in monitoring of water resources and stressed the significance of transparency and dialogue in that matter.
Amulsar is a brand new gold discovery, the first for over 20 years in Armenia. The only shareholder of Geoteam is Lydian International. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development became a shareholder of Lydian International in 2009 and on 21 March 2012 it increased its share to 6.80%. The International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, owns 10.23% of the shares.
Earlier Armenia's Environment Protection Minister Aram Harutyunyan said that the Amulsar project had to be the best in the world. "This implies the use of modern technologies and effective environment protection procedures," the Minister said.