Armenian Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan said he cannot personally guarantee that operations at the Amulsar mine will pose no environmental threat to Lake Sevan and Jermuk. He made the remarks during a conversation with journalists in response to a question about the potential consequences of operating the mine.
“I cannot guarantee it. The experts have provided that assurance based on their research,” the minister said, according to Sputnik Armenia.
Journalists drew Papoyan’s attention to concerns raised by environmentalists, independent experts and civil society representatives. They noted that these groups had also appealed to countries and delegations participating in COP17, describing the Amulsar mining project as disastrous for Armenia. According to the critics, the project contradicts the Convention on Biological Diversity and obstructs the implementation of the goals established under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Papoyan, however, insisted that responsible mining is essential to Armenia’s economy.
“There is no mine in the world that does not affect the environment. It would be a lie to say that there is a mine that has no environmental impact,” he noted.
According to the economy minister, the results of studies conducted on Amulsar indicate that the mine’s environmental impact has been assessed as very limited. He said several environmental concerns raised previously had not been substantiated by professional investigations.
To support his statements, Papoyan referred to a study conducted in 2019 by Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD). The minister also emphasized that the Amulsar mine has already entered its operational phase, is producing output and is engaged in exports.
“There are 1,600 people working there, with up to 4,000 additional indirect jobs created as a result of the mine’s operations. Next year, if current prices remain unchanged — unless gold becomes more expensive, which is the trend — the mine will pay up to $130 million in taxes to the state budget. If gold prices rise, it will pay even more in taxes.
“The mine’s contribution to Armenia’s GDP will amount to 1.5-2%. It is no longer possible to imagine our economy without Amulsar, without the Zangezur Copper Molybdenum Combine (ZCMC), or without such major mining giants,” Papoyan stressed.
Responding to the observation that anticipated financial revenues from mining should not take precedence over potential environmental damage and the safety of future generations, the minister offered optimistic projections.
“Everything will be fine with Armenia’s biodiversity and future generations because ensuring that requires a lot of money today,” Papoyan said.
According to him, revenues generated by mining could be directed toward education, healthcare, afforestation, reservoir construction and the efficient use of water resources.
Amulsar is Armenia’s second-largest gold deposit by reserves. It is operated by Lydian Armenia Closed Joint-Stock Company, a subsidiary of the international company Lydian International. The mine remained inactive for an extended period. In 2019, Lydian Armenia announced that it was losing $500,000 for every day of downtime.
In 2023, it emerged that Lydian Armenia had transferred 12.5% of its shares to the Armenian government. Later, on August 8, 2025, the company announced that construction work had resumed at the Amulsar site. Gold extraction operations officially began at the Amulsar mine on October 10, 2026.
