Name of the Project
Amulsar gold project.

Location
Southern Armenia.

Project Owner/s
Lydian Armenia, a subsidiary of Lydian International, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of Geoteam CJSC.

Project Description
Studies on the Amulsar project have demonstrated a compelling opportunity for the development of a large-scale, low-cost operation using openpit mining and conventional heap-leach processing.

The project comprises Site 27 – the preferred location for the barren rock storage facility, and Site 28 – the preferred location for the heap-leach facility.

The deposit will be developed through openpit mining using a 10 m bench height, 22 m2 front shovels and 180 t haul trucks with a capacity to carry 190 t of material.

A production rate of 30 000 t/d over 350 days a year has been the basis for planning. The estimated mine life is less than ten years; however, the model contains a significant portion of inferred material, and drilling has identified additional mineralisation that has not been quantified by detailed drilling below the pits. Over the first five years of production, lower-grade material above the cutoff grade (greater than or equal to 0.24 g/t gold and below 0.30 g/t gold) will be stockpiled.

The processing facility will comprise two‐stage crushing, screening and overland conveying to the fine-ore stockpile and truck loadout bin. From there, the 19 mm crushed ore will be transported by trucks to the leach pad for heap leaching.

Pregnant leach solution from the heap will be treated in a carbon‐in‐column circuit. Gold will be recovered by an adsorption‐desorption‐recovery circuit, where the final product will be doré.

Potential Job Creation
Employment is expected to reach 1 300 workers later this year.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at a 5% discount rate, of $386.2-million and an internal rate of return of 24.5% at a gold price of $1 150/oz, with a payback of 2.6 years.

Capital Expenditure
Total preproduction capital costs have been estimated at $369.88-million.

Planned Start /End Date
First production from the mine is expected by mid-2018.

Latest Developments
Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Canadian miner Lydian International will be permitted to proceed with the contested Amulsar project.

Environmental groups and some locals have campaigned against the mining project because they are concerned that it will pollute the Jermuk springs. However, the project has been subjected to three full-scale environmental audits in the past 12 months and passed the most recent audit.

Work on the Amuslar project was halted in June last year, when protestors set up illegal blockades preventing access to the mine. Police have failed to act on complaints from the company to remove the protestors and have been forced by a court ruling to launch criminal investigations into the actions of the protestors.

The protestors are reportedly mostly ecologists and local residents.

Lydian interim president and CEO Edward Sellers has said that there are still significant challenges ahead for the miner to recover and rebuild its capacity in Armenia.

The company has dismissed the majority of its workforce in the wake of the illegal blockades.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Lydian International, tel +44 1534 747 890 or email moreinfo@lydianinternational.co.uk.