12.5% of Lydian Armenia CJSC stock gifted to the RA Government

ArmInfo. 12.5% of the shares of Lydian Armenia CJSC have been transferred to the RA  Government. This was reported by the press service of the RA Ministry  of Economy.

As the source notes, the signing ceremony of the agreement took place  on October 27. On behalf of the RA Government, it was signed by the  RA Minister of Economy Gevorg Papoyan, and on behalf of Lydian  Armenia CJSC, by the company's director Hayk Aloyan.

The press service emphasized that $500 million has already been  invested in the project, and another $250 million is planned to be  invested, which will create about 1,000 new jobs.

According to Gevorg Papoyan, the signing of this contract means that  all stages on the way to the implementation of the project have been  successfully overcome, very detailed work has been carried out, and  all risks and concerns have been dispelled.

"This is a mega-project that will create more than a thousand jobs,  replenish the state budget in the form of taxes, but most  importantly, it will contribute to the development of the local  community. We believe in the success of this project," the minister  said.

In turn, the director of Lydian Armenia CJSC Hayk Aloyan said that  the construction work of the Amulsar mine will begin in the next  quarter, and the actual operation of the deposit is planned for the  fourth quarter of 2025.

Over the past 2-3 years, the owners of a number of companies have  transferred shares in the companies to Armenia. In particular, the  government became the owner of 21.875% of the shares or 1/5 of the  share in ZMMC, approved a decision to accept as a gift 12.5% of the  shares of the Lydian Armenia company, which intends to resume  construction of the Amulsar mine. The process of transferring the  shares of Lydian Armenia was delayed several times, despite the fact  that on January 8 of this year the RA government made a decision to  accept as a gift 12.5% of the shares. Initially, the document was  supposed to be signed in August 2024, after which the deadline was  postponed to November, but even then this did not happen.  Operation  is planned to begin after the completion of construction work.

The deposit is the second largest in terms of reserves in Armenia.  According to the company, the deposit contains about 73,733 kg of  gold with an average grade of 0.78 g per ton, as well as 294,367 tons  of silver with an average grade of 9.29 g per ton. It is located in  the southeast of the country, 13 km from the resort town of Jermuk,  in the interfluve of the Arpa and Vorotan rivers.