Environmental Front Calls on Financiers to Withdraw from Amulsar Project

The Armenian Environmental Front has sent a letter to the investors and lending companies financing the Amulsar project, referencing a study conducted by ELARD-TRC regarding the environmental impact assessments (EIAs) produced by Lydian. The letter calls for these entities to withdraw from the project.

Specifically, the letter states: "The study ordered by the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Armenia details, page by page, the inaccuracies in scientific processes, which indeed question the feasibility of the project. It also demonstrates that the audit reports commissioned at the time by Lydian to comply with IFC standards (e.g., prepared by Knight Piésold consulting company) were aimed exclusively at making the projects appear fundable, rather than conducting scientific verification and assessment.

ELARD/TRC’s evaluation has serious implications for investors and lenders. It may imply corporate and investment fraud, intentional misdirection of investors and lenders, and willful concealment of the real dangers of the mining project and, therefore, the actual costs. In just one of the numerous instances highlighted in this evaluation, for example, the assessors point out that the mine closure duration and costs have been reduced from the standard 30 years to the current 5 years, thereby decreasing the mine closure costs by more than half.

We understand that as business and financial entities, you are interested in making a profit; however, the purpose of this letter is to inform you of the fraudulent activities of your client corporation and to warn you that you may also share in its potential consequences. We urge you to withdraw your investments/funding from Lydian’s Amulsar gold mine project."