Pashinyan: Government allocated $300,000 for Amulsar gold mine audit
The Armenian government has paid $300,000 to a leading international company to carry out an environmental audit at Amulsar gold mine in Vayots Dzor Province, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a Q&A session at the National Assembly on Thursday.
“The inspection will answer one question: whether the environmental risks that might emerge from the Amulsar mine’s operation are manageable or not,” the PM said in response to the question by Prosperous Armenia Party lawmaker Artur Grigoryan over the current state of the mine exploitation issue.
The PM stressed if the conclusions are negative and the mine operation poses great environmental risks, the project will be completely shut down, but if the audit finds low risks, the project implementation will continue.
In the last six months, environmental activists and residents of nearby communities blocked the Amulsar deposit, protesting against mining operations planned there by the Lydian International company.