"It is quite difficult to say when Amulsar will open, but I opt for its development,” as RA Deputy Prime Minister Suren Papikyan stated on the air of "Liberty" radio station during "Facebook live press conference" held on September 24, 2021. In reply to the question whether you had meetings with environmentalists about it, the Deputy Prime Minister responded, "I mean, it has to be in line with all the environmental norms. When I saythat I am inclined to have a mine in Armenia, to create jobs, to have additional funds in the budget, which will close the mentioned gaps, naturally, I say that it will happen in case of compliance with environmental norms."
Papikyan responded to the observation that there are concerns that the surrounding communities will suffer and people's health will be endangered. "I think we cannot do anything which can result in such risks. There can always be people who will react and have different opinions. It is about reasonable questions and solid answers. Everything is in the field of facts. "
Reminder: US $ 450,000 AMD was paid from the state budget to Earth link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) for the document expert assessment of Amulsar gold mining project appointed within the frames of the criminal case.
As a result of its expert assessment, the company identified a number of omissions and problems in the EIA of Amulsar project.
Following the publication of this conclusion, the issue of annulling the environmental expert opinion on Amulsar project was raised, which was suspended. RA Environment Ministry presented to the Chief of Staff of RA Prime Minister the position of the state authorized bodies, that of ELARD and TRC organizations, and the position of the National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia on Amulsar project documents. In that document, the omissions and shortcomings in the Amulsar program were presented with 13 points, including Point 13 of the document particularly says,
“According to the State Nuclear Safety Regulatory Committee under the Government of the Republic of Armenia, as a result of the preliminary study of the submitted documents, the following conclusions were reached. Section 2.9 "Radiation Background" of EIA Report of Amulsar mine should be completely revised, taking into account the report on uranium prospecting held in the Amulsar area in 1952-54. If the mineral activity exceeds the value defined in RA legislation, its management must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of RA Government Resolution N 439 N dated on April 25, 2013.
With this document, it was proposed to Environmental Protection and Mining Inspection Body to carry out inspections, which didn’t happen either.
September 24, 2021 at 13:15