Lydian Armenia presented the first report on sustainable development
ArmInfo.Lydian Armenia, which launched the program to operate the Amoulsar gold mine, made a presentation on August 31, presenting its first annual report on sustainable development enterprises with the goal of restoring public confidence in the mining industry. In a welcome speech the company's general director Hayk Aloyan noted: "Today, the mining sector is devoid of high confidence. And we intend to win it through an open and transparent dialogue, responsibility and modernization."
The very presentation was presented by the director of Lydian Armenian for stable development Armen Stepanyan. So, in his words, in 2016 the company managed to record unprecedented indicators in the process of acquiring land plots. "A total of 278 private land plots for a total of $ 296,000 were purchased from 150 registered landowners," Stepanian said. Speaking about the company's achievements, he noted that last year a very important indicator was recorded - involvement in the project of labor from the communities adjacent to the field. According to him, the company's level in 49% exceeded the expected level by 20%. According to the presented presentation, out of 306 people, 150 are residents of the city of Jermuk, the rural communities of Gndevaz, Saravan and Gorayka. Answering the question of ArmInfo, he noted that by the end of 2018 the company intends to increase the number of jobs to 1300.
In this regard, he added that as a result of 2016, Lydian Arenian paid about $ 1.1 million as salaries to its employees. In his presentation A. Stepanyan drew attention to other financial indicators. In particular, he said that last year the company paid $ 1.5 million in taxes. The cost of payment for services and goods delivered for the purpose of field work amounted to $ 395 thousand, and $ 870 thousand in the form of investments were sent to the adjacent communities.
"Within 10 years of field operation, annual injections in the country's GDP will amount to about $ 120 million, which is adequate to 1% of Armenia's GDP, in addition to which $ 65 million in indirect investments will go to other sectors of the economy," he said.
Stepanian described the work aimed at a 50% reduction in the frequency of occupational injuries, which currently stands at 1.96%, as the next steps to be taken. At the same time, he noted the importance of meeting the requirements of the investors of the EBRD and IFC project for the implementation of works, revitalization of the company as part of joining the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) and membership in the Institute of the International Code of Cyanide Use (ICMC).
Concerning the creation of the Jermuk National Park A. Stepanian noted that according to preliminary calculations, the environmental project will be completed by 2021, and the investment will amount to about $ 5.7 million.
To recall, Lydian Armenia is a subsidiary of the British Lydian International, whose shareholders are also major international institutional investors from the United States, Britain and several European countries, including IFC and EBRD. The Amulsar project is the largest industrial project in Armenia today for the development of the Amulsar gold deposit with a total value of $ 370 million. In August 2016, a project for the construction and development of the deposit was launched. Preliminary work has been carried out since 2006. The operation life of the Amulsar deposit will be 10 years and 4 months, annually it is planned to produce an average of 200 thousand ounces of gold (about 10 million tons of ore). The company's shares are quoted on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The Amulsar deposit is the second largest in Armenia.