Last checked at 4 Oct 2010 07:00
Anglo Asian Mining plc / Ticker: AAZ / Index: AIM / Sector: Mining
4 October 2010
Anglo Asian Mining plc ('Anglo Asian' or 'the Company')
Quarterly Operations Update
Anglo Asian Mining plc, the AIM listed emerging gold producer, is pleased to provide an update for the quarter ended 30 September 2010 on operations at its flagship Gedabek gold/copper mine ('Gedabek') in Azerbaijan.
Overview
·; Record quarterly gold production figure of 19,214 oz at Gedabek
·; Production for nine months to 30 September 2010 totals 47,711 oz Au
·; On track to achieve 60,000 oz Au production target for the year to 31 December 2010
·; 224,000 tonnes of gold dry ore transferred during Q3 2010 onto the leach pad with an average gold content of 4.3 g/t
·; SART now fully operational - revenues from copper and silver sales expected to positively impact FY 2011 financials
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri said, "This has been an exceptional quarter in terms of gold production, which has seen us strengthen our position as a profitable, cash generative gold production company in Azerbaijan. Importantly, efficiencies at our flagship Gedabek mine also continue to improve, which I believe will help us achieve our 60,000 oz gold production target for 2010. With the SART processing plant now fully operational we hope to see our profitability strengthen in the future through the additional sale of copper and silver concentrates. This, in conjunction with increasing gold production, a favourable gold price and increasing the resource base, ideally places us to capitalise on our first mover advantage in the region."
During the quarter ended 30 September 2010, the Company produced 19,214 oz of gold ('Au'), bringing total production for nine months to 30 September 2010 to 47,711 oz Au. The winter calendar quarters at Gedabek provide a more testing environment for mining and production but taking account of this, and the improving production efficiencies at Gedabek, the Board anticipates that the Company will achieve its production target to 31 December 2010 of 60,000 oz Au. The buoyant gold price has also seen Anglo Asian completing gold sales at an average of $1,229 per oz for the months July 2010 to end of September 2010.
The following summary table of gold production and prices highlights the quarter-on-quarter increase in gold production at Gedabek over the past year.
| Quarter ended | Gold Produced (including Govt. of Azerbaijan's share) (oz) | Weighted Average Gold Sale Price (US$) |
| 31 Dec 2009 | 7,620 | 1,090 |
| 31 Mar 2010 | 13,661 | 1,102 |
| 30 June 2010 | 14,836 | 1,197 |
| 30 Sept 2010 | 19,214 | 1,229 |
In terms of processing, during the quarter the Company transferred 224,000 tonnes of dry ore onto the leach pad with an average gold content of 4.3g/t. For the year to date, Anglo Asian has transferred 609,000 tonnes of dry ore onto the leach pad with an average gold content of 4.35g/t.
During the quarter, Anglo Asian installed a further storage pond, bringing the total on site to three. The storage ponds facilitate the overflow of solution from the Barren Leach Solution and Pregnant Leach Solution ponds.
The Company's Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening ('SART') process for the recovery of the copper and silver dissolved in the leaching solution is now fully operational. The copper is recovered in the form of a precipitated copper sulphide concentrate by-product, which also contains silver with commercial value. For the three months to 30 September 2010 the Company produced copper concentrate that contained approximately 60 tonnes of copper ('Cu'), 510 kg of silver ('Ag') and 8 kg Au. In order to reduce moisture content in the concentrate, Anglo Asian will be introducing new filters in Q4 2010. The Company also expects first sales of copper and silver to be made in Q4 2010, once a sales protocol has been agreed with our Government partners, which will positively impact FY2011 financials.
During Q3 2010, Anglo Asian repaid $4.8 million of its loan with the International Bank of Azerbaijan ('IBA') bringing the outstanding loan balance to $36.3 million as at 30 September 2010. Of the amount repaid in the quarter, $1.25 million was paid ahead of schedule. In addition, Anglo Asian has an outstanding loan of $1m with Reza Vaziri, Anglo Asian CEO, which it plans to repay in November 2010.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.aamining.com or contact:
| Reza Vaziri | Anglo Asian Mining plc | Tel: +994 12 596 3350 |
| Andrew Herbert | Anglo Asian Mining plc | Tel: +994 12 596 3350 |
| John Harrison | Numis Securities Limited, as Nominated Adviser | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 |
| James Black | Numis Securities Limited, as Corporate Broker | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7260 1000 |
| Hugo de Salis | St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
| Felicity Edwards | St Brides Media & Finance Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7236 1177 |
Notes:
Anglo Asian Mining plc (AIM:AAZ) is an emerging gold producer in Central Asia with a broad portfolio of production and exploration assets in Azerbaijan. The Company has a 1,962 sq km prospective exploration portfolio, assembled on the back of analysis of historic Soviet geological data and held under a Production Sharing Agreement ('PSA') based on the Azeri oil industry. The Company developed Azerbaijan's first operating gold/copper mine, Gedabek, which commenced gold production in May 2009.
Anglo Asian is actively looking to exploit its first mover advantage in Azerbaijan to identify additional projects, as well as looking for other properties in Central Asia and Caucasia in order to fulfil its expansion ambitions and become a mid-tier gold and base metal production company focussed in these regions.