The tripartite memorandum of understanding signed on February 22 between RA government, Eurasian Development Bank and "Lydian Armenia" CJSC regarding the operation of Amulsar mine is an opportunity to re-examine the position of the public regarding the project, as Inga Zarafyan, President of "EcoLur" Informational NGO, and Nazeli Vardanyan, Director of "Armenia Forests" NGO, expert in environmental law, mentioned it at the discussion entitled "New attempt to operate Amulsar mine: environmental and security risks considered" held at Media Center on March 10, 2023.
Oleg Dulgarian, President of "Center for Community Mobilization and Support" NGO, also took part in the discussion. "Lydian Armenia" CJSC and Economy Ministry rejected the invitation to participate in the discussion.
Inga Zarafyan mentioned that there will be population movements in Jermuk in case of mine operation. "Other employees from different regions will come to replace the local population, because the local population has been busy providing health services for decades and will not change their specialization to uncertain and harder work. It means that both the local residents and the newly arrived ones will leave it in a few years after the end of mine operation. As a result, we will have a ghost town similar to Dastakert," she noted.
Referring to the forecasts by Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan to increase the share of mining in the gross domestic product of Armenia by 1% in the case of the operation of Amulsar mine, Nazeli Vardanyan outlined, "We have 20 metal mines, 7 of which are large in operation. In the last 15-20 years, the share of metal mines in the gross domestic result makes up 2.8%. If all of them, including Sotq mine, which contains ten times more gold than Amulsar, were increased by 1%, we should have at least 7% volume of metal mines in GDP. We don't have that today."
Another prediction that the operation of the mine can prevent further attacks by the Azerbaijani armed forces on Jermuk is also not guaranteed, according to environmentalists.
Nazeli Vardanyan mentioned, "They say that companies with foreign capital are not bombed. In 2020, we saw that Artsvanik tailing dump owned by ZCMC was bombed. At the time, the majority in the company was German and offshore capital. "Geopromining" is located in Sotq, the area of the mine is bombed every day," Nazeli Vardanyan said.
Referring to the statement by RA Health Minister regarding conducting an examination, Nazeli Vardanyan noted, "They did not conduct an examination, they did not write half a word in the EIA examination that they have any objection." According to Oleg Dulgarian, Health Ministry presented only a professional opinion. Inga Zarafyan also mentioned that the independent examinations performed in the polluted communities revealed a high concentration of chemical elements in the body of the local population.
"Years ago, as a result of the research done by Center for Ecological Noosphere Studies, arsenic and other toxic elements were found in the hair of Qajaran’s children. People didn't know what to do with those analyses. It was all submitted to Health Ministry. However, not even one check was carried out among these children either in Qajaran, Akhtala, or Teghut. What kind of manageable risks are we talking about if you can't even conduct a single study," she questioned.
Speaking about the most dangerous environmental risks in the case of the possible mining, Inga Zarafyan mentioned, "The state-commissioned ELARD study found that the risks were unmanageable and inadequately assessed in the various permitting documents." That means the process has to start over. The heaviest risks they are silent about are the cyanide HLF in the first place. The company must blast several thousand tons of material to extract the mineral. What should we do with radioactive materials, the high concentration of which has been confirmed in various studies, which were also confirmed by the MES.
Third, millions of tons of various toxic materials will be removed and placed in the landfill area next to Arpa-Vorotan catchment area. Those materials will definitely pass through Arpa-Vorotan water catchment area, endangering Kechut, Spandaryan reservoirs, Vayots Dzor, Syunik and Ararat Regions, and eventually Lake Sevan through Arpa-Sevan tunnel."
Referring to the future fate of Jermuk, Nazeli Vardanyan said, "Jermuk was built under difficult conditions and recognized as an internationally recognized hotel and treatment system. Jermuk residents continue their education in the fields of tourism, healthcare and service. There is no problem of employment in Jermuk. If they wanted to earn a lot of money, they would go and live in Qajaran.
These people preferred fresh air. During 70-80 years, billions were invested to make Jermuk a brand. The government did not even give an assessment of the results, consequences, economic losses and benefits of the mine operation. They want to destroy the whole system, which will harm not only Jermuk sanatoriums, but also the neighboring communities. According to Nazel Vardanyan, Vayots Dzor winemaking will also suffer. Speaking about the statement regarding Amulsar, Oleg Dulgarian mentioned that currently about a thousand organizations and individuals have joined it. Oleg Dulgarian also added that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's promises that nothing will be done against the opinion of the community did not come true: the struggle of thousands of people was ignored, thrown aside in favor of the mining community," he stressed out.
March 10, 2023 at 17:45