(Alliance News) - Anglo Asian Mining PLC announced on Tuesday the purchase and delivery of Caterpillar Inc equipment to its Gedabeck mine site, where it expects production to commence in mid-2024.
The Azerbaijan-focused copper, gold and silver producer successfully delivered a fleet of five "state-of-the-art" Caterpillar loaders to the site in Western Azerbaijan.
The Gilar mine, where Caterpillar's equipment will be deployed, was recently tested for mineralisation and revealed an in-situ mineral resource of 54,000 tonnes of copper, 255,000 ounces of gold and 46,000 tonnes of zinc.
The new equipment is considered more powerful and to possess more safety features than its predecessors. Once the mine is operational, this will mark the first time Caterpillar underground equipment has been deployed in the wider Caucasus region. A stock of spare parts will be held at centres in Turkey and Kazakhstan, permitting "efficient after-sales servicing of the machines over their lifetime."
Anglo Asian paid USD4.6 million for the new equipment. An outstanding balance of USD3.7 million is due to be paid by the end of December. Caterpillar will provide a vendor financing loan of USD3.7 million towards this, with negotiations regarding the loan's execution expected to close in the first quarter of 2024.
Anglo Asian's share price was down 6.4% at 59.92 pence each in London on Monday morning.
By Hugh Cameron, Alliance News reporter
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Anglo Asian (AAZ)