Last checked at 21 Apr 2021 07:00
Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
21 April 2021
Anglo Asian Mining plc
Five-year Extension to Gedabek Contract Area Approved
Negotiations Continue for Additional Territory
Anglo Asian Mining plc ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, is pleased to announce that it has obtained ratification for the first of the two permitted five-year extensions of the Production Sharing Agreement for its Gedabek Contract Area. The Company is also currently in negotiations with the Government of Azerbaijan to obtain an extension of the territory of its existing contract areas and for new contract areas in Azerbaijan.
Anglo Asian CEO, Reza Vaziri, commented: "I am very pleased to announce that the Company has obtained the first of the five-year extensions of the Production Sharing Agreement for the Gedabek Contract Area, especially as we continue with our exploration programme which has already identified a number of new mineral occurrences including Zafer and Avshancli.
"This extension has been ratified by the Government of Azerbaijan during on-going negotiations for the Company to increase its land under concession in Azerbaijan both through enlargement of its existing contract areas and the licencing of new areas. This will enable the Company to expand its operations in the country. It is expected these negotiations will be concluded shortly and I look forward to updating shareholders."
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit or contact:
Reza Vaziri | Anglo Asian Mining plc | Tel: +994 12 596 3350 |
Bill Morgan | Anglo Asian Mining plc | Tel: +994 502 910 400 |
Stephen Westhead | Anglo Asian Mining plc | Tel: +994 502 916 894 |
Ewan Leggat | SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker | Tel: +44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
Adam Cowl | SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP Nominated Adviser and Broker | Tel + 44 (0) 20 3470 0470 |
Megan Ray | Blytheweigh Financial | Tel: + 44(0) 20 7138 3224 |
Notes:
Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company has a 1,962 square kilometre portfolio at its active Gedabek, Gosha and Ordubad contract areas assembled from analysis of historic Soviet geological data and held under a Production Sharing Agreement ("PSA") modelled on the Azeri oil industry. The Company also has three recently restored contract areas in the formerly Occupied Territories and Karabakh under its PSA and which the Company has started to preliminary evaluate.
The Company's main operating location is the Gedabek contract area ("Gedabek") which is a 300 square kilometre area in the Lesser Caucasus mountains in western Azerbaijan. The Company developed Azerbaijan's first operating gold/copper/silver mine at Gedabek which commenced gold production in May 2009. Mining at Gedabek was initially from its main open pit which is an open cast mine with a series of interconnected pits. The Company also operates the high grade Gadir underground mine which is co-located at the Gedabek site. The Company has a second underground mine, Gosha, which is 50 kilometres from Gedabek. Ore mined at Gosha is processed at Anglo Asian's Gedabek plant.
The Company produced 67,249 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2020. Gedabek is a polymetallic ore deposit that has gold together with significant concentrations of copper in the main open pit mine. The Company therefore employs a series of flexible processing routes to optimise metal recoveries and efficiencies. The Company produces gold doré through agitation and heap leaching operations, copper concentrate from its Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening (SART) plant and also a copper and precious metal concentrate from its flotation plant.
The Company has a production target for the year to 31 December 2021 of 48,000 ounces to 54,000 ounces of gold and 2,500 tonnes to 2,800 tonnes of copper. This total production target expressed as gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") at budgeted prices is between 64,000 GEOs and 72,000 GEOs.
Anglo Asian is also actively seeking to exploit its first mover advantage in Azerbaijan to identify additional projects, as well as looking for properties in other jurisdictions in order to fulfil its expansion ambitions and become a mid-tier gold and copper metal production company.