Lydian International released its first sustainability report covering environmental, social and governance developments associated with the Amulsar project in Armenia.

The launch of the report was held in Yerevan with participation by Company management, representatives of the Republic of Armenia, Diplomatic Corps, International Organizations, and members of civil society.

The report documents the company’s performance during 2016 across a range of key sustainability issues identified by our stakeholders and the company. These issues include safety; occupational and community health; environmental management; community engagement and development; local hiring; broader economic impacts; as well as other key aspects.

Achievements in 2016 included:

- Significant progress with our biodiversity programmes, including working with the Republic of Armenia toward establishment of the Jermuk National Park, as well as implementing programmes to study and preserve the Potentilla Porphyrantha plant and protect the brown bear regional population;
- Becoming a signatory of the International Cyanide Management Code;

- 49% of 306 Armenian nationals employed at the mine site drawn from local communities by the end of 2016;

- US$395,000 direct spending on procurement of goods and services in the locality of the mine; and

- Active participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) multi-stakeholder group.

Several challenges acknowledged during our ramp-up of construction activities at the mine included deferred training schedules for local hiring, lower-than-expected level of community involvement in our participatory monitoring programme, and some mistrust within some sections of civil society. In the report, we set ambitious targets for 2017 to help address some of these matters.
 
Lydian CEO Howard Stevenson described this report as “a key mechanism through which our stakeholders can hold us to account and track our progress against the commitments we have made”. He added, “This is another major step in our journey towards developing and operating a world-class mine in Armenia that meets good international industry practices.”

Report is available in Armenian and English on www.lydianarmenia.am and www.lydianinternational.co.uk.