Environmental consequences The potential environmental consequences are similar for many of the issues identified: contamination of groundwater, springs, streams; water in the Spandaryan-Kechut Tunnel; and water in the Kechut Reservoir. The worst water quality is predicted for leachate from the waste rock facility (BRSF), which is up-gradient of the tunnel, the Kechut Reservoir, and the Arpa River. Because waste rock test samples were not representative of the higher metal and sulfide content, the impact of contaminated water to aquatic life and people downstream from the mine is likely to be more severe than predicted. Decreased flows in streams, springs, the tunnel, and the reservoir and lower groundwater levels due to pit dewatering and decreases in groundwater recharge caused by the presences of large waste and ore facilities covering the landscape are also identified in the Amulsar Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA). Such degradation in water quality and clean water availability are highly problematic for an area that provides much of the country’s water supply to the Kechut Reservoir.
The Amulsar ESIA shows the predicted flow paths of contaminated water travelling from mining sources (waste rock, cyanide heap leach facility, open pits) to water resources during mine operation and closure. Contaminants from the waste rock pile will flow to the Kechut Reservoir and the Arpa River. The cyanide heap leach facility (where ore is place and will remain during closure) will partially cover a tributary flowing to the Arpa river, and contaminants are also predicted to flow to the Arpa River through groundwater. The Tigranes- Artavazdes Pit contaminants are predicted to flow to the Spandaryan-Kechut Tunnel, the Vorotan River, and the Darb River, which flows into the Arpa River. Flow paths from the Erato Pit, which will not be backfilled, reach nearly all receptors, including the Arpa River upstream of the Kechut Reservoir. These results are based on a groundwater model that did not consider the abundant faults in the area that could bring contaminants more quickly, and with less dilution, to unanticipated receptor locations, including springs.