• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Bankwatch

  • About us
    • Our vision
    • Who we are
    • 30 years of Bankwatch
    • Donors & finances
    • Get involved
  • What we do
    • Campaign areas
      • Beyond fossil fuels
      • Rights, democracy and development
      • Finance and biodiversity
      • Funding the energy transformation
      • Cities for People
    • Institutions we monitor
      • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
      • European Investment Bank
      • Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
      • Asian Development Bank (ADB)
      • EU funds
    • Our projects
    • Success stories
  • Publications
  • News
    • Blog posts
    • Press releases
    • Stories
    • Podcast
    • Us in the media
    • Videos
  • Русский
Home > Press release > Legal challenges mount for Armenia gold mine as complaint filed to EU development lender

Legal challenges mount for Armenia gold mine as complaint filed to EU development lender

Yerevan – The beleaguered Amulsar gold mine in Armenia broke rules attached to two loans totalling EUR 11 million it received in 2017 and 2009 from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, alleges a new complaint from 23 people living near the project and Armenian and international civil society groups including CEE Bankwatch Network.

15 June 2020

The complaint details how the planning and construction of the gold mine near Jermuk in southern Armenia excluded public opinion during consultations over the project, damaged the town’s tourism potential and reputation as a spa destination, and polluted nature and precious water resources in the pristine area. 

Locals fear that pollution caused by the ongoing works on the mine and planned extraction of gold with cyanide leaching will damage subsistence agriculture that many rely on for their livelihoods and potentially flow into Lake Sevan, the largest freshwater reserve in the Caucasus. 

The complainants are asking the bank’s accountability mechanism to assess whether the project complied with EBRD policy requirements to protect environmental and social rights and if not, recommend that the bank withdraw from the project.

This latest complaint adds to the woes of Amulsar’s owner Lydian International. In January 2020, the company was delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange and subsequently filed for bankruptcy protection. 

Lydian has also been the focus of previous complaints to development lenders and international bodies, including 2014 complaints to both the EBRD and the International Finance Corporation and to the Bern Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats this year. 

Fidanka McGrath, Bankwatch EBRD policy officer said, “The bank missed the opportunity to act when the first complaints were raised in 2014. Even though construction work has begun and irreversible damage has been done, the bank should take action to stop any more destruction. The bottom line is that there is no support for this project among those who will be most greatly affected by the mine as demonstrated by a 3000 strong petition for a mine-free Jermuk by local people.”

For more information

Fidanka McGrath
EBRD policy officer, CEE Bankwatch Network
Email: fidankab@bankwatch.org
Mobile: +359 87 730 3097

The full complaint is available at https://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism/pcm-register.html. 

More background about the Amulsar mine is available at https://bankwatch.org/project/amulsar-gold-mine-armenia

Never miss an update

We expose the risks of international public finance and bring critical updates from the ground – straight to your inbox.





Institution: EBRD

Theme: Gold mining

Location: Armenia

Project: Amulsar gold mine, Armenia

Tags: Amulsar | Armenia | gold mining

Footer

CEE Bankwatch Network gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.

The content of this website is the sole responsibility of CEE Bankwatch Network and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union.

Unless otherwise noted, the content on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons BY-SA 4.0 License

Your personal data collected on the website is governed by the present Privacy Policy.

Get in touch with us

  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • RSS
  • YouTube