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REJECT ANY SUPPORT FOR MINING IN AMOULSAR
Nov 7, 2014
Operation of Amoulsar Gold Mine is Yet Another Disaster to Armenia
Call Upon All Armenians To Reject Any Support For Mining in Amoulsar
(Jermuk)
Yerevan,
October 6, 2014
Amoulsar is one of the peaks of the Armenian highlands, a mountain
3000m above the sea level, located between Vayots Dzor and Syunik
regions of Armenia and only 10 km away from one of the gems of Armenia,
hydrological wonder Jermuk.
When gold exploration started in Amoulsar in 2006, the Armenian public
could not imagine what kind of risks the mining project could possibly
pose to the regions of Vayots Dzor, Syunik, and Gegharkunik, as well
as Armenia on the whole. These risks have already been identified
and have been continuously voiced by the civil society and local
communities for over 3 years. Since 2011, 3 scientific conferences,
5 official public hearings, as well as many press conferences have
been organized on mining of Amoulsar during which many geologists,
hydrologists, economics, botanists, zoologists, doctors and other
specialists expressed their disapproval and fear of uncontrollable
risks. Many articles and publications were written, despite the narrow
space in the Armenian media given to this issue. While media coverage
of these events was limited, the PR strategies of Lydian International
and its subsidiary in Armenia, Geoteam CSJC succeeded in silencing
criticism of the mining project in the mainstream media in Armenia.
Despite the claims of Lydian's executives that they are going to
engage in "responsible mining", their statements cannot be grounded by
any fact of past performance as this is a new company with no track
record of mining operation. "Responsible mining" is also incongruent
with this particular project, as open-pit mining with such high risks
for the environment, economy and livelihood of local communities can
in no way be considered "responsible."
We are aware that the company is conducting intensive PR in the
Armenian Diaspora convincing Armenians around the world to buy shares
of their company and finance this disastrous mining project.
Armenians all around the world can only serve their homeland by calling
for a moratorium of any new mining project in Armenia, including the
ones in Amulsar, Teghut, Meghri, Hrazdan and other areas, and adoption
of strict environmental and taxation regulations to contain the harm
threatening our homeland and future generations.
Armenians all around the world should exert efforts in pushing for
Amoulsar be included in Jermuk National Park, a protected area that
will be created soon, but overpasses the mountain for obvious reasons.
While the international quest for the natural resources of Armenia
continues and is tilted towards Russia, we in Armenia need support to
withstand all sorts of international pressure and extractive slavery.
Two large international financial institutions, the International
Financial Corporation of the WB Group and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development are discussing financing this project
alongside holding some of the shares of Lydian International. These
institutions have already received 2 complaints from Armenia, one from
9 organizations and another one from 200 members of Gndevaz community
with a request to revoke financial support for this project, as it does
not meet international standards promulgated by their own institutions.
For all those who will have to hear the nicely-packaged PR of Lydian
International, here are some guidelines to the risks of gold mining
in Amoulsar.
Amoulsar mountain and its surrounding area are of strategic
hydrological importance for Armenia and are included in the water
basin of Lake Sevan. Arpa and Vorotan rivers originate from this
mountain and strip mining will not only disrupt formation of streams
falling into these rivers, but will inevitably result in pollution
of these streams and subsequently of these river basins with heavy
metals already on surface (more than 1000 ha of land will change their
landscape) . The fact that strip mining of Amoulsar is a threat to
Lake Sevan was recognized by the Special Governmental Committee on
Lake Sevan in 2012. Any activity with a possible negative impact on
the ecosystem of Lake Sevan is prohibited by the Law on Lake Sevan.
The open pit mining will also affect Darb river, which waters many
vineyards and agricultural lands and feeds fish-farms down the stream.
Please be aware that this is not yet processing of ore and the cyanide
leach-pad which is yet another risk to the environment.
No assessment is made on how the intensive explosions will affect
the rock formations of Jermuk and its underground water resources
(hot springs), located from 2km to 10 km away from the mine. It is
also not assessed how the explosions will affect the highly vulnerable
Vorotan-Arpa tunnel built specifically to save Lake Sevan. Jermuk hot
springs have made Jermuk an international hot spring resort and not
only will its reputation as a clean environment conducive to health
recovery be at stake, but also the entire industries of agriculture,
fish-farming, mineral water bottling and tourism.
Amoulsar is in a high radiation zone, the ore samples show that
concentration of radon exceeds 400 Bq/m3. Geological scientific data
also show that Amoulsar mine is also rich in uranium. The company
has presented no plan of managing this situation. The gold mine is
also located only several km away from a large uranium mine. It is
not assessed how the explosions will affect the highly dangerous
uranium deposits. It is also not assessed at which depth does the
uranium concentration increase. Overall, seismic assessments are not
conducted for this mining project whereas the area is located in a
10-point Richter scale zone.
The impact of dust rich in heavy metals is not assessed at all. The
measurement of wind direction is also falsified and is only measured in
a wind station located in a gorge where there are only 2 directions,
while in Amoulsar there are at least 4 directions for the wind. It is
not assessed what impact the 700 tons of dust rich in heavy metals
and generated on a yearly basis for 10 years will have on people's
health, pastures, agricultural lands and biodiversity.
Overall, no health impacts are assessed.
Mining in Amoulsar will eventually be illegal as it is banned to mine
in any area where there are Red-listed species of fauna or flora, as
well as cultural and historical assets. It is a proven fact that this
area has rich biodiversity with red-listed species, including 1 plant,
18 species of birds (this is by the way an International Bird Area),
reptiles and butterflies and 4 mammals. These facts have been proven by
WWF Armenia and are confirmed by the environmental impact assessment
of the company itself. The area is also rich with archaeological
assets dating as back as the 3rdmillennium B.C. and they will be
irreparably damaged as a result of explosions. No transfer of such
cultural monuments has ever happened in Armenian mines.
Gold concentration in the ore is officially only 0.8g per 1 ton,
wherein larger amounts of lead, cadmium, arsenic and other toxic metals
are going to be dumped in the air through dust and accumulated in a
tailing dump or so-called "leach-pad". It is planned that more than
122mln tons of solid waste and more than 342mln tons of liquid waste
rich in cyanide will be deposited in one of the richest agricultural
and touristic areas of Armenia. Their possible negative impact is
not assessed and presented to the public. It is planned that during
the 10 years of mining operation, more than 20,000 tons of highly
toxic cyanide and 10,000 tons of hydrochloride acid is going to be
transported and used for processing ore. And this is all for allegedly
60 tons of gold.
The costs and benefits of mining Amoulsar are not assessed at all,
it is not assessed how much Armenia will lose economically from loss
of agricultural lands, touristic industry and ecosystem services. In
fact, mining is only a "heaven" for companies which pay miserably
low taxes for profit, do not pay anything for the millions of tons of
mining waste, do not pay environmental fees etc. Taxation of mining
in Armenia is one of the lowest in the world, and environmental
regulation and inspection, one of the worst.
The local communities will be under a strong social challenge by
losing their traditional means of livelihood; agriculture, tourism,
fish-breeding, they will engage in mining for only 10 years and
after 10 years they will never be able to return to their previous
livelihood: their lands will have been seized and under mining
infrastructure, their environment will be polluted and no longer good
for agriculture and tourism, the women of the communities will be left
jobless while the men will only work in the mines for 10 years. The
community of Gndevaz is under the threat of resettlement, however
neither the company, nor the government speak of this. This village
will only be less than 2 km away from the gold processing plant and
all heavy trucks will daily transport the rocks through the village,
which inevitably will make the village uninhabitable.
Aside from these facts, all potential investors should bear in mind
that we, as civil society aspiring for democracy, rule of law and
the right of our population to live in a healthy and prosperous
environment, will do our best to deter operation of this and other
mines by removal of potentially corruption-backed systems and regimes.
Therefore, we call upon Armenians and non-Armenians around the world
to use common sense and demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility
towards the population living in Armenia and reject supporting mining
operations in Armenia, particularly gold mining of Amoulsar.
Save Teghut Civic Initiative
Inga Zarafyan, President of EcoLur NGO
Vazgen Galstyan, President of "Jermuk Development Center" NGO
Tehmine Yenoqyan, journalist, resident of Gndevaz community
Levon Galstyan, member of Pan-Armenian Environmental Front civic
initiative
http://teghut.am/en/2014/11/call-upon-armenians-to-reject-investments-amoulsar-mining-project-2/
Download the letter here.
http://teghut.am/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Call-upon-Diasporans-on-Amoulsar-and-Mining.pdf
Nov 7, 2014
Operation of Amoulsar Gold Mine is Yet Another Disaster to Armenia
Call Upon All Armenians To Reject Any Support For Mining in Amoulsar
(Jermuk)
Yerevan,
October 6, 2014
Amoulsar is one of the peaks of the Armenian highlands, a mountain
3000m above the sea level, located between Vayots Dzor and Syunik
regions of Armenia and only 10 km away from one of the gems of Armenia,
hydrological wonder Jermuk.
When gold exploration started in Amoulsar in 2006, the Armenian public
could not imagine what kind of risks the mining project could possibly
pose to the regions of Vayots Dzor, Syunik, and Gegharkunik, as well
as Armenia on the whole. These risks have already been identified
and have been continuously voiced by the civil society and local
communities for over 3 years. Since 2011, 3 scientific conferences,
5 official public hearings, as well as many press conferences have
been organized on mining of Amoulsar during which many geologists,
hydrologists, economics, botanists, zoologists, doctors and other
specialists expressed their disapproval and fear of uncontrollable
risks. Many articles and publications were written, despite the narrow
space in the Armenian media given to this issue. While media coverage
of these events was limited, the PR strategies of Lydian International
and its subsidiary in Armenia, Geoteam CSJC succeeded in silencing
criticism of the mining project in the mainstream media in Armenia.
Despite the claims of Lydian's executives that they are going to
engage in "responsible mining", their statements cannot be grounded by
any fact of past performance as this is a new company with no track
record of mining operation. "Responsible mining" is also incongruent
with this particular project, as open-pit mining with such high risks
for the environment, economy and livelihood of local communities can
in no way be considered "responsible."
We are aware that the company is conducting intensive PR in the
Armenian Diaspora convincing Armenians around the world to buy shares
of their company and finance this disastrous mining project.
Armenians all around the world can only serve their homeland by calling
for a moratorium of any new mining project in Armenia, including the
ones in Amulsar, Teghut, Meghri, Hrazdan and other areas, and adoption
of strict environmental and taxation regulations to contain the harm
threatening our homeland and future generations.
Armenians all around the world should exert efforts in pushing for
Amoulsar be included in Jermuk National Park, a protected area that
will be created soon, but overpasses the mountain for obvious reasons.
While the international quest for the natural resources of Armenia
continues and is tilted towards Russia, we in Armenia need support to
withstand all sorts of international pressure and extractive slavery.
Two large international financial institutions, the International
Financial Corporation of the WB Group and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development are discussing financing this project
alongside holding some of the shares of Lydian International. These
institutions have already received 2 complaints from Armenia, one from
9 organizations and another one from 200 members of Gndevaz community
with a request to revoke financial support for this project, as it does
not meet international standards promulgated by their own institutions.
For all those who will have to hear the nicely-packaged PR of Lydian
International, here are some guidelines to the risks of gold mining
in Amoulsar.
Amoulsar mountain and its surrounding area are of strategic
hydrological importance for Armenia and are included in the water
basin of Lake Sevan. Arpa and Vorotan rivers originate from this
mountain and strip mining will not only disrupt formation of streams
falling into these rivers, but will inevitably result in pollution
of these streams and subsequently of these river basins with heavy
metals already on surface (more than 1000 ha of land will change their
landscape) . The fact that strip mining of Amoulsar is a threat to
Lake Sevan was recognized by the Special Governmental Committee on
Lake Sevan in 2012. Any activity with a possible negative impact on
the ecosystem of Lake Sevan is prohibited by the Law on Lake Sevan.
The open pit mining will also affect Darb river, which waters many
vineyards and agricultural lands and feeds fish-farms down the stream.
Please be aware that this is not yet processing of ore and the cyanide
leach-pad which is yet another risk to the environment.
No assessment is made on how the intensive explosions will affect
the rock formations of Jermuk and its underground water resources
(hot springs), located from 2km to 10 km away from the mine. It is
also not assessed how the explosions will affect the highly vulnerable
Vorotan-Arpa tunnel built specifically to save Lake Sevan. Jermuk hot
springs have made Jermuk an international hot spring resort and not
only will its reputation as a clean environment conducive to health
recovery be at stake, but also the entire industries of agriculture,
fish-farming, mineral water bottling and tourism.
Amoulsar is in a high radiation zone, the ore samples show that
concentration of radon exceeds 400 Bq/m3. Geological scientific data
also show that Amoulsar mine is also rich in uranium. The company
has presented no plan of managing this situation. The gold mine is
also located only several km away from a large uranium mine. It is
not assessed how the explosions will affect the highly dangerous
uranium deposits. It is also not assessed at which depth does the
uranium concentration increase. Overall, seismic assessments are not
conducted for this mining project whereas the area is located in a
10-point Richter scale zone.
The impact of dust rich in heavy metals is not assessed at all. The
measurement of wind direction is also falsified and is only measured in
a wind station located in a gorge where there are only 2 directions,
while in Amoulsar there are at least 4 directions for the wind. It is
not assessed what impact the 700 tons of dust rich in heavy metals
and generated on a yearly basis for 10 years will have on people's
health, pastures, agricultural lands and biodiversity.
Overall, no health impacts are assessed.
Mining in Amoulsar will eventually be illegal as it is banned to mine
in any area where there are Red-listed species of fauna or flora, as
well as cultural and historical assets. It is a proven fact that this
area has rich biodiversity with red-listed species, including 1 plant,
18 species of birds (this is by the way an International Bird Area),
reptiles and butterflies and 4 mammals. These facts have been proven by
WWF Armenia and are confirmed by the environmental impact assessment
of the company itself. The area is also rich with archaeological
assets dating as back as the 3rdmillennium B.C. and they will be
irreparably damaged as a result of explosions. No transfer of such
cultural monuments has ever happened in Armenian mines.
Gold concentration in the ore is officially only 0.8g per 1 ton,
wherein larger amounts of lead, cadmium, arsenic and other toxic metals
are going to be dumped in the air through dust and accumulated in a
tailing dump or so-called "leach-pad". It is planned that more than
122mln tons of solid waste and more than 342mln tons of liquid waste
rich in cyanide will be deposited in one of the richest agricultural
and touristic areas of Armenia. Their possible negative impact is
not assessed and presented to the public. It is planned that during
the 10 years of mining operation, more than 20,000 tons of highly
toxic cyanide and 10,000 tons of hydrochloride acid is going to be
transported and used for processing ore. And this is all for allegedly
60 tons of gold.
The costs and benefits of mining Amoulsar are not assessed at all,
it is not assessed how much Armenia will lose economically from loss
of agricultural lands, touristic industry and ecosystem services. In
fact, mining is only a "heaven" for companies which pay miserably
low taxes for profit, do not pay anything for the millions of tons of
mining waste, do not pay environmental fees etc. Taxation of mining
in Armenia is one of the lowest in the world, and environmental
regulation and inspection, one of the worst.
The local communities will be under a strong social challenge by
losing their traditional means of livelihood; agriculture, tourism,
fish-breeding, they will engage in mining for only 10 years and
after 10 years they will never be able to return to their previous
livelihood: their lands will have been seized and under mining
infrastructure, their environment will be polluted and no longer good
for agriculture and tourism, the women of the communities will be left
jobless while the men will only work in the mines for 10 years. The
community of Gndevaz is under the threat of resettlement, however
neither the company, nor the government speak of this. This village
will only be less than 2 km away from the gold processing plant and
all heavy trucks will daily transport the rocks through the village,
which inevitably will make the village uninhabitable.
Aside from these facts, all potential investors should bear in mind
that we, as civil society aspiring for democracy, rule of law and
the right of our population to live in a healthy and prosperous
environment, will do our best to deter operation of this and other
mines by removal of potentially corruption-backed systems and regimes.
Therefore, we call upon Armenians and non-Armenians around the world
to use common sense and demonstrate a strong sense of responsibility
towards the population living in Armenia and reject supporting mining
operations in Armenia, particularly gold mining of Amoulsar.
Save Teghut Civic Initiative
Inga Zarafyan, President of EcoLur NGO
Vazgen Galstyan, President of "Jermuk Development Center" NGO
Tehmine Yenoqyan, journalist, resident of Gndevaz community
Levon Galstyan, member of Pan-Armenian Environmental Front civic
initiative
http://teghut.am/en/2014/11/call-upon-armenians-to-reject-investments-amoulsar-mining-project-2/
Download the letter here.
http://teghut.am/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Call-upon-Diasporans-on-Amoulsar-and-Mining.pdf