Anglo Asian Mining PLC Regulatory News (AAZ)

20 June 2024

Anglo Asian Mining plc

Annual General Meeting Statement

Anglo Asian Mining PLC ("Anglo Asian" or the "Company"), the AIM-listed gold, copper and silver producer focused on Azerbaijan, is holding its annual general meeting at 11.00 am today at 33 St James' Square, London, SW1Y 4JS. At the meeting Reza Vaziri, Anglo Asian President and Chief Executive, will make the following statement:

"2023 began on a high note with the successful publication in March of our strategic growth plan to transition the Company to mid-tier production status with a focus on copper as well as and production targets being met. However, the social unrest at the tailings dam in July resulted in our agitation leaching and flotation processing being suspended from August till the end of the year. Production was maintained throughout the year from heap leaching and SART processing, which do not produce tailings.

The Micon International report, following their environmental audit in July, confirmed our operations were operating well within international environmental guidelines. Permission to restart our operations was given in September, which was a major achievement. The audit has strengthened the Company's environmental credentials. We have further bolstered our ESG commitments by forming a sustainability committee in early 2024 and committing to implement the best practice Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management at our operations in Gedabek.

Production in 2023 was expected to be lower due to mining from our legacy open pit and underground mines. The partial suspension of processing also materially impacted our full year production which was 31,821 gold equivalent ounces. Revenues were 46 million dollars and our loss before taxation was 32 million dollars. The loss included non-cash impairment charges for Libero of 5 million dollars and 13 million dollars for geological exploration. We ended the year with net debt of 10.3 million dollars.

The Company continued to lay the foundations for future growth during the year. We published JORC resources for Gilar deposit and a final JORC resource for Zafar. In early 2024, we also published a JORC resource for Xarxar and are on track to complete a JORC resource for Garadag this year. These resources together mean the Company now has a substantial resource base of over 500,000 tonnes of copper and 400,000 ounces of gold. 2024 as the saw operations at our new Gilar mine commencing along with taking delivery of a Caterpillar underground mining fleet.

The last 12 months have obviously been challenging, but this period is now largely behind us. The resilience displayed during this time is a testament to the strength of the business. We look forward to shortly resuming full production from agitation and flotation processing. Our growth strategy to become a mid-tier producer with a portfolio dominated by copper within the next five years remains intact, although recent events have likely set us back by approximately 6 to 12 months.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank my fellow board members, our management team, our employees and contractors for their hard work and dedication, and our shareholders for their ongoing support."

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About Anglo Asian Mining

Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is a gold, copper and silver producer with a high-quality portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company produced 57,618 gold equivalent ounces ("GEOs") for the year ended 31 December 2022. 

On 30 March 2023, the Company published its strategic plan for growth which shows a clearly defined path for the Company to transition to a multi-asset, mid-tier copper and gold producer by 2028. By 2028, copper will be the principal product of the Company, with forecast production of around 36,000 copper equivalent tonnes. It plans to achieve this growth by bringing into production four new mines during 2023 to 2028 at Zafar, Gilar, Xarxar and Garadag. 

The Company owns approximately 19.8 per cent. of Libero Copper & Gold Corporation ("Libero"). Libero is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and owns, or has the option to acquire, several copper exploration properties in North and South America, including Mocoa in Colombia, one of the world's largest undeveloped copper-molybdenum resources. 

https://www.angloasianmining.com/