EcoLur
Financial investors of “Lydian International” Company - International Finance Corporation IFC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD, responded to the alarm of EcoLur on Amulsar project (see “Alarm Signal Addressed to IFC and EBRD, Investors of Lydian International” open letter).
The letter of Biljana Radonjic Ker-Lindsay, Head of Civil Society Engagement Unit of EBRD says:
“We would like to inform you that Lydian International is committed to follow EBRD's highest environmental and social standards as a condition of the Bank's equity investment to support current exploration activities of the Company. Such exploration activities have had a limited environmental footprint to date. Shall the Company progress to full mine development, Lydian will work closely with the Bank on environmental and social impact assessment for Amulsar mine.
With respect to specifics of dismissal of employees, we would encourage you to communicate directly to the Company. Having discussed this issue with Lydian in principal we understand that the Company hires its staff on a seasonal basis between May and end of November of each year. Staff is re-hired with a start of a new season and this is a normal industry practice for an exploration company such as Lydian International.
Should you have any further questions regarding operational activity of Lydian, please kindly address them to the Company (Messrs Nerses Karamanukyan, General Manager, Caucasus; Dr Hayk Aloyan, Managing Director, Armenia; Dr Armen Stepanyan, Environmental and Social Manager). Please also do not hesitate to contact the Bank which will be happy to address any issues related to our equity investment in the Company”.
The letter of Thomas Lubeck, Regional Head of IFC in Caucasus says:
“IFC supports the private sector activities that create jobs and contribute to the growth of Armenia’s economy and sustainable mining sector. We apply high environmental and social standards to al projects we finance. The Amulsar project is subject to these standards and international good practice for mining operations, including independent reviews, with publically available reports for any future mine operations.”
December 27, 2011 at 17:02