Armenian villagers protest gold mine plans to protect livelihood
Armenian villagers are locked in what they say is a battle for the environment and their livelihoods, standing guard around the clock to protect their land from a multinational mining company.
Protesters say planned gold mining in the south will not only pollute drinking water but also damage some of the top tourist spots in the small Caucasus mountain nation.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, however, insists the project at Mount Amulsar is a vital source of foreign investment and a sign his country is open for business. Pashinyan was brought to power last year on the back of popular protests, but activists’ efforts are now directed against him and a perceived preference for investment over the well-being of his people.
“The mine will pollute water, soil, and air,” said Erazik Stepanyan, a 57-year-old from Gndevaz, a tiny village a few kilometers from Mount Amulsar.
“We don’t want our children to suffer from serious illnesses, we will not let anybody defile our nature.”
The project is being developed by Armenia’s biggest foreign investor, the British-American company Lydian. Work has been on hold for over a year after activists and locals set up pickets, blocking access to the construction site. “We will fight till the end so that Amulsar never becomes a mine,” said 18-year-old Suzi Hunanayan, whose family has taken part in the pickets.
The sentiment is shared in the spa town of Jermuk, where locals fear the mine would destroy their main source of income.
“No tourist will come to Jermuk if such a hazardous mine is being exploited nearby. Our businesses will be destroyed,” said Mkhitar Stepanyan, who sells medicinal herbs. “Nobody will buy my herbs in fear they are poisoned by the discharges from the mine,” he said, looking anxiously at sheaves of chamomile, St. John’s wort, and mint piled up at his kiosk. The planned mine is near the sources of rivers which flow into picturesque Lake Sevan, another tourist draw and the country’s main source of drinking water.