...Last week the long-awaited Independent Third Party Assessment commissioned by Armenian government on Impacts on Water Resources, Geology, Biodiversity and Air Quality of Amulsar Gold Mine was published, likely paving the way for harmful gold mining operations to resume. While the report has been interpreted as a confirmation that the Amulsar mine does not entail environmental and health risks for the surrounding communities, several of the report’s conclusions paint a different picture...Edward Sellers, Interim President & CEO of Lydian Armenia, commented: “We [...] are confident [the Audit Report] will confirm Lydian’s prudential approach to environmental stewardship.” In fact, the audit report does not entirely support Lydian’s claim of responsible environmental stewardship. The report is essentially a review of the previous environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) conducted by Lydian and does not take in account social and human rights impacts of the project. While it excludes the risk of contamination of Jermuk springs waters, it contains a number of worrying conclusions on the environmental assessment and monitoring plans conducted and developed by the company...