Mediamax has tried again to get information about Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD), the Lebanese company selected to conduct the audit of the Amulsar mine, and has found none again.
In the report “Amulsar, Investigative Committee, and ELARD: a story in 7 parts” published on 22 February 2019, we revealed that ELARD declined to answer our question despite the previously reached agreement and asked to send all inquiries to the Investigative Committee of Armenia.
Among other questions, we asked Ricardo Khoury, Director for Environment at ELARD Lebanon:
“Do you have experience with such assessments? Could you please tell about similar projects your company did in recent years?”
On the same day we applied to the committee with an inquiry, which included the following questions:
“Did the Investigative Committee set any restrictions for the communication between ELARD and the Armenian press? If so, do these restrictions concern the inquiries about the experience and previous projects of ELARD?”
On February 26, 2019 we received the response from Deputy Chief of the Investigative Committee Administration Karen Hovhannisyan, which read in particular:
“As for the projects ELARD has implemented previously, the Investigative Committee set a number of standards that the companies applying for the pre-qualification of the tender, announced by the committee on 8 November 2018, had to comply with, including previous projects and studies. ELARD met all requirements. ELARD is a well-known, accredited company that won the tender announced by the Investigative Committee.”
After Mr. Hovhannisyan’s reply to the inquiry we examined one more time the Investigative Committee’s statement on the prequalification related to international third-party assessment of environmental impact assessment of the Amulsar Gold Mine project, which indicates that the applicants are required to submit the documentation including a reference list of at least ten (10) similar in nature and complexity projects undertaken by the company in the last two years.
We sent another inquiry to the Investigative Committee on March 23, 2019, which read:
“Since Earth Link & Advanced Resources Development (ELARD) stated it cannot reply to our questions, we address them to the Investigative Committee with the expectation to receive the reply in the shortest possible term.
1. The prequalification announced by the committee in autumn of 2018 reads in particular that the applicants for the Amulsar project study are required to submit “a reference list of at least ten (10) similar in nature and complexity projects undertaken by the company in the last two years”. We request the committee to disclose the mentioned reference list, which will enable the public to get acquainted with the experience of the company that won the prequalification.
2. At the Armenian government session on 21 February 2019, Chairman of the Investigative Committee Hayk Grigoryan said in particular: “A process of this kind usually lasts for 6 to 8 months. We sped up the procedures as much as we could together with our colleagues from the Ministry of Nature Protection. We completed the preliminary stage in four months, and ELARD plans to finish the investigation in 12-16 weeks. However, the company will submit running reports once in two weeks. The preliminary results of the investigation will be known in May.”
Given that over a month has passed since then, has the committee received running reports from ELARD so far? If yes, why has it not been announced?
3. We also request the mentioned running reports.”
On March 29, 2019 we received the following reply from the Investigative Committee:
“In response to your inquiry of 25.03.2019, the Investigative Committee informs that the materials you have requested are attached to the criminal investigation and are therefore considered classified information.
The comprehensive study aimed at the assesment of environmental risks of Amulsar gold mine during and after operation as well as the clarification of other key matters is underway.
The information about the organization and process of the study has been released on the official website of the Investigative Committee. The information on the further process and results of the study, which will be subject to disclosure, will also be published on the official website of the Investigative Committee.”
There can be two explanations. Either the committee overlooked our first question about the reference list or it is also considered classified information, which is bewildering.
We mentioned in the previous publication on this topic that ELARD is not independent essentially in this study (although Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan often highlighted the importance of independence of the company selected to conduct the audit).
While speaking at the Armenian National Assembly on March 28, Pashinyan said that the government had provided USD 300,000 from the state budget to “an established international company” for a comprehensive study of Amulsar mine.
It is fair to say that an established international company would not hide its previous projects. On the contrary, it would present them proudly.
Ara Tadevosyan
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