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
The Amulsar project, which has faced opposition by some ecologists and residents in Armenia, could produce by late next year or early 2021.

Lydian wants to restart construction by April or May next year, although some rehabilitation and earth-moving associated with site recovery could start earlier.

This comes after Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said that access to the Amulsar project should be restored and that protestors blocking access should open the roads.

According to Pashinyan there is no legal basis on which the government could prevent the company from advancing Amulsar in accordance with permits based on an existing environmental-impact assessment (EIA) or require an additional EIA regarding the Amulsar project at this time. 

Pashinyan reportedly said that stopping the Amulsar project on environmental grounds would illustrate a discriminatory approach regarding Lydian and not enhance Armenia’s ability to attract foreign investment.

Government has said it will conduct inspections to ensure that the company complies with its permits.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Work on the Amulsar project was halted in June last year, when protestors set up illegal blockades preventing access to the mine. Before the demonstrations, Lydian was working towards entering production at the 225 000 oz/y mine in the fourth quarter of 2018, ramping up to full output in 2019.

Environmental groups and some locals campaigned against the mining project over concerns that it would pollute the Jermuk springs. The project has, however, been subject to three full-scale environmental audits in the past 12 months, all of which it has passed.

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