London-listed Chaarat Gold on Monday, October 24 confirmed that it was in discussions regarding the potential takeover of Lydian Armenia, the owner of the Amulsar gold mine, Mining Weekly says.

Lydian Armenia is a 100% subsidiary of Lydian Canada Ventures, owned by US firm Orion Mine Finance and Canadian firm Osisko Gold Royalties.

Development of the Amulsar mine was suspended in 2018, following protests against the project’s potential environmental damage.

According to Armenian online publication Hetq, the government has extended mining rights to Lydian for another three years, until 2039, without the need for a new environmental impact assessment (EIA). Amendments to the mining legislation in June 2022 allow companies to mine with EIAs that are more than a year old, if work delays were caused by force majeure reasons, including civil disobedience.

Chaarat said that the proposed acquisition would constitute a reverse takeover, owing to the size of the transaction. Accordingly, trading in Chaarat's shares would be suspended with immediate effect pending the publication of the required Aim admission document or an announcement that the potential acquisition would not proceed.