TBILISI, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Azerbaijan's Anglo Asian MiningPlc, the country's main gold producer, increased outputby 16 percent to 60,285 ounces in 2014, achieving its productiontarget for the year.
The London-listed firm said it raised production of copperat Azerbaijan's main mine, Gedabek, and the Gosha mine to 784tonnes from 327 tonnes in 2013. Silver output fell to 31,177ounces from 65,939 ounces.
"We have achieved our latest target for both gold and copperfor the year and hope to continue 2015 on this positive note," Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri said in a statement.
Gold sales in 2014 totalled 50,615 ounces at an averageprice of $1,267 per ounce.
Gold is produced at Gedabek and other Azeri mines under aproduction venture with Anglo Asian, in which the governmentowns 49 percent.
Anglo Asian began production at Gedabek, 350 km west of thecapital Baku, in July 2009 and plans to extract a total of 22tonnes of gold from the mine.
The company said the ore reserve estimate for Gedabek was20.5 million tonnes of ore grading 1.03 grammes per tonne ofgold (682 thousand ounces), 102,000 tonnes of copper, and 7.35grammes per tonne of silver (4.84 million ounces).
Overall, Anglo Asian plans to develop seven mines in westernAzerbaijan with estimated gold reserves of 430 tonnes. (Reporting and writing by Margarita Antidze; Editing by MichaelUrquhart)
Anglo Asian (AAZ)
