By Andranik Aboyan
The announcement by Lydian Canada Ventures of its impending acquisition of $150 million in additional funding to exploit Armenia’s Amulsar gold deposit is not a cause for celebration but a grim reminder of how the resources of our motherland are being sold off to foreign interests. Instead of serving as a collective wealth for the Armenian people, Amulsar is poised to become another tool for imperialist enrichment, with our government complicit in this betrayal.
A Giveaway to Foreign Capitalists
Hayk Aloyan, the executive director of Lydian’s Armenian subsidiary, proudly declared that Armenian banks are in negotiations to fund the project, with the government itself considering guarantees for these loans. In total, $250 million will be required to complete construction, with $150 million sourced from Armenian financial institutions.
What Aloyan and his collaborators fail to mention is that this project’s ultimate beneficiaries are not the Armenian people but foreign shareholders, primarily based in Canada and the United States. While these investors stand to reap enormous profits from an annual gold output valued at $550 million, Armenia will receive scraps in the form of taxes. The people will see no ownership, no collective benefit, and no say in how their nation’s natural wealth is exploited.
Instead of asserting public ownership over Amulsar—a resource that rightfully belongs to the people—Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government has once again chosen to bend the knee to foreign capitalists. This is not governance; it is servitude.
The Hypocrisy of Civil Contract
The ruling Civil Contract party’s actions are all the more disgraceful when one considers their blatant hypocrisy. Recall that during the so-called “velvet revolution” of 2018, Pashinyan’s allies vocally opposed any foreign economic influence that could be perceived as emanating from Russia. They denounced Russian-led initiatives as threats to Armenia’s sovereignty and accused their predecessors of selling out the nation’s interests.
Yet today, the same government that postures as defenders of independence eagerly paves the way for Western capital to pillage Armenia’s resources. Were the Amulsar mine to be developed by Russian investors, one can only imagine the uproar and obstructionist tactics that would be deployed by Civil Contract. This double standard exposes their true loyalties—not to Armenia, but to the Western imperialists who pull their strings.
Environmental and Economic Destruction
The history of the Amulsar project underscores the depths of this betrayal. Following the 2018 revolution, environmental activists rightly opposed the project, warning of catastrophic ecological consequences. Lydian dismissed these concerns, promising to use “modern technology” to mitigate damage—empty words from a company whose priority is profit, not preservation.
Instead of siding with the activists and defending Armenia’s environment, Pashinyan’s government chose inaction, neither revoking Lydian’s licenses nor forcibly ending the blockade. The result was a stalemate that only delayed the inevitable plundering of Amulsar while allowing Lydian to cry foul over its alleged $460 million in sunk investments.
Now, under the guise of economic recovery following the disastrous 2020 war, the government is not only reviving the project but actively facilitating it. In return for a paltry 12.5% stake in the mine—insultingly framed as a “donation”—Armenia has surrendered its sovereignty and placed its people at the mercy of foreign exploiters.
The Path Forward
The Armenian people must reject the narrative that foreign investments are the only path to development. Amulsar and all of Armenia’s natural resources should be publicly owned and managed in a way that ensures their benefits flow directly to the people. The wealth generated from these resources could fund defense, education, healthcare, infrastructure, and other vital needs—not line the pockets of foreign shareholders.
The working class must also expose and oppose the hypocrisy of Civil Contract and their Western backers. Their selective outrage against Russian influence while welcoming Western imperialists lays bare their true allegiance.
Armenia’s future will not be secured by selling its natural wealth to the highest bidder. It will be built through the collective ownership of resources, the empowerment of the masses, and the rejection of all forms of imperialist domination. Only then can we begin to forge a society where the interests of the people, not foreign capital, reign supreme.
