Gold field with environmental consequences in Armenia Azerbaijan raises alarm

Chairperson of Azerbaijan’s “Environmental Education and Monitoring” Public Association Gamza Yusubova has said that Armenia's exploitation of the Amuldagh gold deposit also harms its citizens.

“The Environmental Protection First (EPF) coalition has repeatedly appealed to the Armenian side regarding its mining enterprises, which do not comply with any environmental standards,” Yusubova told Trend.

She noted that the documents related to the assessment of the environmental impact were sent to the Armenian side.

“However, Armenia continues using the Amuldagh [Amulsar] gold deposit without compliance with environmental standards and without taking into account environmental impact assessment documents. During mining at the Amuldagh field, waste containing heavy metals is discharged into the Bargushad River, also polluting the Araz River through the Khakari River. This causes great damage to the environment and natural diversity. The Amuldagh field is located 13 kilometres from Istisu city. The exploitation of the Amuldagh field causes great damage to the mineral springs of Istisu, which also creates problems for human health. This poses a big threat to the Caspian Sea basin across the Araz River and creates big problems not only for Azerbaijan, but also for other Caspian littoral countries,” Yusubova added.