EcoLur
“Geoteam CJSC” Company has organized a meeting with Gndevaz villagers, where they talked about the cyanic plant for gold extraction. The meeting was held in enlarged staff. Vayots Dzor Regional Governor Edgar Ghazaryan also took part in this meeting besides the company representatives and villagers. As EcoLur blogger, Gndevaz villagr Marianna Arshakyan wrote, “Geotam” Director Hayk Aloyan spoke about the disposal of barren ore and that the company intends to lease the pastures of Gndevaz village. The main concerns of the villagers were connected with the probable pollution of water. Hayk Aloyan said that all the geological and hydrological studies were conducted and the project won’t affect the water. He noted that they work under international standards and will continue working in the same manner. The participants talked about seismic risks, safety and to what extent the dumps may resist to quakes.
Geoteam Ecologist Armen Stepanyan spoke about the place for tailings disposal and he noted that the area for heap leaching (i.e. cyanic production) and tailings will be ensured with a protective layer to improve the quality of the construction,” the statement says.
Reminder: the cyanic plant should have been located in the territory of Gorayk Village, in the catchment area of Arpa and Vorotan Rivers, which is a part of Lake Sevan catchment area. But after the Scientific-expert committee of Lake Sevan Ecosystem Conservation issued a negative opinion to Amulsar project due to significant risks, the previous project of cyanic plant was called back. The company even distributed booklet in Gorayk Village entitled “What You Should Know about Cyanogen”. The booklet particularly says, “Cyanides are highly toxic, despite this they are hazardous only in case of improper application like it’s case with power, explosives and highly inflammable materials.”
July 15, 2013 at 11:52