The Region in Brief

Armenia

The Armenian government has revived the Amulsar gold mining project, which was shut down by protesters in 2018. Armenia granted Lydian Canada Ventures a license to develop a massive gold deposit in the Vayots Dzor province in 2016. The project was halted after environmental activists shut down roads leading to Amulsar in June 2018 shortly after the Velvet Revolution. Economy Minister Vahan Kerobyan said on Wednesday that the Armenian government, in partnership with Lydian and the Kazakhstan-based Eurasian Development Bank, would raise $250 million to finish construction of the gold mine. Kerobyan said Lydian would pay between 30 and 40 billion AMD ($75-100 million) in taxes each year. He also said the mine would raise Armenia’s GDP by one percent.