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Company Overview

Lydian Armenia CJSC is a mining company registered in the Republic of Armenia, which has the required permits to operate the Amulsar Gold Project. Lydian Armenia (formerly Geoteam) was founded in 2005 and after significant geological exploration activities, discovered the Amulsar Gold Mine. Amulsar is the first gold deposit discovered after Armenia’s independence. In 2011, Lydian was conferred Mining Journal’s “Outstanding Achievement” Award for discovery and exploration of the Amulsar mine.

Lydian Armenia is a 100% subsidiary of Lydian Canada Ventures owned by the US firm, Orion Mine Finance and Canadian firm, Osisko Gold Royalties, who both invest in mining and mineral sectors.

Lydian Armenia’s Amulsar Project is the largest investment project in Armenia. The company invested more than USD 90 million only for the geological exploration and USD 370 million during the construction phase, and it plans to invest another USD 200 million to complete the construction of the Amulsar Project.  

Lydian Armenia plans to create up to 1,000 direct jobs during the construction phase and 750 direct permanent jobs and 200 permanent contractors – during the next 11 years of mining. Only the royalties and the profit tax to be paid by Lydian will amount to USD 60-70 million per annum.  

Lydian Armenia considers Amulsar Project’s surrounding communities of Gndevaz, Jermuk, Gorayq and Saravan as its primary partners and the social programs of the Company are directed to the sustainable development of these communities. For this purpose, since 2007, Lydian Armenia has invested over USD 4 million in social programs by financing over 90 projects in agriculture, infrastructure development, health care, education, etc., as well as over 50 small and medium businesses. 

Lydian Armenia commenced environmental studies for the Amulsar Project in 2008. Lydian’s Environmental and Social Impact Assessment documents (EIA and ESIA) are unprecedented in Armenia in terms of their volume and quality. The company has spent over 6 million USD only on the compilation of these documents, involving reputable international and local scientific institutions (Wardell Armstrong InternationalGolder AssociatesGlobal Resource EngineeringTreweek Environmental ConsultantsEnvironmental Resource ManagementLUC and RA NAS Institute of Botany, RA NAS Scientific Center of Zoology and Hydrology, etc.).

The Company committed to follow the Equator Principles, and the performance standards and requirements of International Finance Corporation (IFC) and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).

Lydian Armenia is the first in Armenia to be signatory to International Cyanide Management Code. The Amulsar Project is the fifth project in the world to obtain a pre-production certificate and the first mining project to be certified since the amendments to International Cyanide Management Code in 2016, which include stricter audit guidelines.

Lydian Armenia promotes occupational health and safety culture among its employees, contractors as well as in the neighboring communities. The company also follows the international best practice in this sector. In 2018, during the active construction phase Lydian Armenia achieved a milestone of 2 million man/hours without a lost time injury. This is a significant achievement even for the experienced international companies.

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