Court Orders Police to Remove Trespassers and Assure Lydian Free Access to Amulsar
TORONTO, April 12, 2019 - Lydian International Ltd. (TSX:LYD) (“Lydian” or the “Company”) today announced the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia ruled in favour of Lydian and instructed the Armenian Police to remove trespassers and their property from the Company’s Amulsar Project site and assure Lydian free passage to Amulsar.
On September 20, 2018, Lydian filed an appeal with the Administrative Court of Armenia to have the Police enforce the rule of law and remove protesters trespassing on Company property and denying all road access to the Amulsar Project. The Court ruling, announced April 10, 2019, supports Lydian Armenia CJSC’s complaint against a decision made by the local police that there was no basis for the removal of protesters, their vehicles, tents, and trailers to allow Lydian to access the Amulsar Project site.
The Court ruling stated that the right to assembly is not absolute and may not be exercised anywhere, in this case, on private property without the consent of the legitimate owner. Therefore, the police are required to remove the trespassers and their property from the Company’s Project site. The court’s ruling is effective one month after the date of publication unless appealed prior to that date. At this time, the blockades remain in place and the protestors remain on site. Lydian is seeking the police’s immediate enforcement of the court’s ruling.
João Carrêlo, President and CEO of Lydian, stated: “Lydian’s Amulsar Project has been illegally blockaded since June 22 last year. While we respect individuals’ right of free expression, we strongly believe this cannot be exercised in an illegal manner at the expense of the rights of others, meaning in this case Lydian’s shareholders, lenders, employees, community members, and other stakeholders. Lydian has initiated several legal actions in Armenia since July 2018 to protect the rights of the Company. This is a long overdue step that we hope will become an important milestone towards the abolishment of unlawfulness and discrimination that Lydian has been facing since June 2018. We look forward to the prompt implementation by the police of the Court’s ruling.”
Lydian fully reserves all rights and remedies to address any disputes under Armenian and international law. To the extent that Armenian authorities fail to implement the decision of the Administrative Court of the Republic of Armenia and do not remove trespassers from the Amulsar Project site, Armenia will continue to be in breach of its obligations under Armenian and international law.
About Lydian International Limited
Lydian is a gold developer focused on construction at its 100%-owned Amulsar Gold Project, located in south-central Armenia. However, illegal blockades have prevented access to Amulsar since late June 2018. Amulsar is expected to be a large-scale, low-cost operation with production targeted to average approximately 225,000 ounces annually over an initial 10-year mine life. Estimated mineral resources contain 3.5 million measured and indicated gold ounces and 1.3 million inferred gold ounces as outlined in the Q1 2017 Technical Report. Existing mineral resources beyond current reserves and open extensions provide opportunities to improve average annual production and extend the mine life. Lydian is committed to good international industry practices in all aspects of its operations including production, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. For more information and to directly contact us, please visit www.lydianinternational.co.uk.
For further information, please contact:
| João Carrêlo, Chief Executive Officer +1 720-307-5079 | Doug Tobler, Chief Financial Officer +1 720-307-5087 |
Or: moreinfo@Lydianinternational.co.uk
Caution regarding forward-looking information
Certain information contained in this news release is “forward looking”. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events, results, outcomes or developments that the Company expects to occur are “forward-looking statements”. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “intends”, “anticipates” or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “will”, “would”, “should”, or “occur” or the negative or other variations of such terms. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, among others, statements with respect to: the effective date of the court’s ruling; the successful enforcement of the court’s ruling by the Jermuk Police; the potential appeal of the court’s ruling, which may delay its effective date or potentially result in the overturning of the court’s ruling; the Company’s ability to have continued access to the Amulsar site in the future; the Company’s ability to remove the illegal blockades and permanently re-enter the site; our plans, objectives, prospects, expectations and intentions; the timing of development of the Amulsar Project; the commitment to and implementation of good international industry practices; the expected gold production from, and life of mine of, the Amulsar Project; the expected mining methods at the Amulsar Project. Statements concerning mineral resource estimates may also be deemed to constitute forward-looking information to the extent that they involve estimates of the mineralization that will be encountered when the property is developed.
Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and factors include, without limitation: changes in gold and silver prices; adverse general economic, political, market or business conditions; failure to achieve the objectives of the future exploration and drilling programs; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development; risks associated with obtaining and maintaining the necessary licenses and permits and complying with permitting requirements, including, without limitation, approval of the Armenian government and receipt of all related permits, authorizations or other rights, regulatory changes; as well as "Risk Factors" included in the disclosure documents filed on and available at www.sedar.com. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results and future events could materially differ from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All of the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.