Lydian Armenia has proudly announced the achievement of an important safety milestone, namely 2 million man-hours without a Lost Time Injury (LTI) during the most intense construction phase that included winter months. 2 million man-hours achieved during the construction phase at Amulsar reflects a significant safety record even for experienced international companies.
Project construction is well over 80% complete. Several million cubic meters of earthworks were completed, 90.000 m3 of barren rock have been excavated, approximately 20-km of roads were built and 9.000 m3 of concrete were poured. A significant part of the work on water management system and other environmental management controls have been completed. The fact that no serious incident was suffered during construction activities in a difficult mountainous terrain and in adverse weather conditions highlights the company’s commitment to compliance with strict health and safety regulations.
“One of our difficult tasks was to introduce a health and safety culture not only to Lydian’s own employees but also to those of our contractors, says Armen Stepanyan, VP Sustainability. “Sometimes we had our contractors suspend construction activities to reinforce safety standards. whether for unsafe construction practices or for not having their employees wear personal protective equipment. Construction risks are many and the introduction of a strong safety culture promoting employee safety, reduces risks and encourages employees to be proactive in working safely both as individuals and collectively. The achievement of working 2 million man-hours without a lost time injury is indicative of Lydian Armenia commitment to introduce and maintain safe industrial practices as per accepted international standards and to continue advancing a safe work culture in Armenia.”
The 100%-owned Amulsar gold project, located in south-central Armenia presents an opportunity for a large-scale, low-cost operation with production expected to begin in 2018. Open pit mining and conventional heap leach processing contribute to excellent scale and economic potential.
Amulsar will be Armenia’s largest gold mine, with estimated mineral resources containing 3.5 Moz Measured and Indicated gold and 1.3 Moz Inferred gold. Gold production is targeted to average some 225,000 oz/y over an initial 10-year mine life. Existing mineral resources and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the life of mine.
