Yerevan /Mediamax/. On July 5-6, Members of the Board of Directors of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Armenia visited Lydian Armenia’s Amulsar Gold Project construction site and the pits area in Vayots Dzor and Syunik regions, as well as ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade (Vorotan Hydropower Complex) in Syunik.

According to Lydian Armenia, Ambassador Richard Mills and AMCHAM Board visited Amulsar construction site and surrounding village of Gndevaz to familiarize themselves with the small and medium enterprise development projects that Lydian supports.

Since the start of exploration at Amulsar in 2006, Lydian has invested over USD 3 million in socio-economic development projects in Amulsar surrounding communities.

“Lydian’s Amulsar project and Contour Global’s investment in Vorotan Hydropower Plant have been the largest foreign investments in Armenia over the past few years. The success of these investments demonstrates the importance of the Armenian government’s commitment to provide a level playing field for businesses and to create a favorable investment climate. I am especially pleased to see that these investments not only offer economic opportunities to Armenia but also bring new culture of corporate social responsibility. As a committed supporter of Armenia’s EITI membership, we hope that the development of Amulsar Gold Mine will establish a new benchmark for transparency, environmental and social responsibility and good governance in the mining sector in Armenia,” Ambassador Mills said.

“Lydian is committed to develop Amulsar project in line with good international practice and modern standards of environmental and social management. We hope to demonstrate both during construction and mine operation that doing business in a socially responsible manner is possible and beneficial for the company. We believe that investments brought by Lydian and Contour Global highlight Armenia on the international investment map and have the potential to attract more foreign investments for the benefit of our country,” said  Hayk Aloyan, Lydian Armenia’s Managing Director and a member of AMCHAM Board.

The President of AmCham, General Manager of ContourGlobal Hydro Cascade CJSC Ara Hovsepyan emphasized the importance of seeing and understanding the values of high-scale investments by Lydian and ContourGlobal for the Armenian economy.

“We are speaking not only about monetary values, but rather about high standard of work culture, health and safety, openness and transparency, abiding by the rules and promoting sustainable social initiatives. These are the values that companies like Lydian and ContourGlobal are ready to champion in the Armenian economy in the years to come.” Ara Hovsepyan concluded.