Aug 23 2016
Lydian International Limited ("Lydian" or "the Company") announced today the groundbreaking ceremony at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project in Armenia. The ceremony, held August 19, took place as Lydian completes key engineering tasks to begin mobilizing for construction.
"Our priorities for the balance of 2016 include mass earthworks for the heap leach facility, construction of haul roads and building of facility platforms," said Howard Stevenson, Lydian's President and CEO. "This ceremony marks an important milestone as we move to a transformational phase at Amulsar. We are grateful for the continuous support and trust of the Government of Armenia, community leaders, the people of adjacent communities, and heads of diplomatic missions."
The ceremony was attended by nearly 100 guests, including the Prime Minister of Armenia, Mr. Hovik Abrahamyan; Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Mr. Levon Yolyan; and Minister of Economy, Mr. Artsvik Minasyan. Local stakeholders included heads of the communities of Jermuk, Gndevaz, Saravan and Gorayk, and many community members. Also attending were heads of Yerevan offices of the World Bank, Laura Bailey and International Monetary Fund, Teresa Daban Sanchez; representatives of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Finance Corporation; several shareholders; the Ambassador of the United States in Armenia, Mr. Richard Mills; and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Armenia, Mrs. Judith Farnworth.
Upon completion, the Amulsar Gold Project is expected to be the largest gold mine in Armenia, producing an average of 243,000 ounces of gold per year over the initial five years of operations. With this scale of production and the initial 10-year life-of-mine total cash cost estimated at US$509/gold ounce, Amulsar will be a highly profitable operation. As construction progresses and operations begin, Lydian will also be evaluating future additional potential from currently defined inferred mineral resources and, ultimately, from open extensions at depth.
For the full ground breaking coverage and photos http://www.mediamax.am/en/news/society/19565/.