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Gedabek gold, copper and silver mine, Azerbaijan
Anglo Asian Mining , the AIM listed gold, copper and silver producer focused in Azerbaijan, has provided a production and operations update from its Gedabek gold, copper and silver mine in western Azerbaijan for the three months to 31 March 2015.
Production overview:
· Gold production for Q1 2015 increased to 17,193 ounces with 11,222 ounces from the agitation leaching plant, 5,963 ounces from heap leach operations and 8 ounces from SART processing (Q4 2014: total 17,053 ounces)
· Gold production was 52 per cent. higher than the same period of the previous year (Q1 2014)
· Copper production for Q1 2015 totalled 182 tonnes from SART processing (Q4 2014: 205 tonnes)
· Silver production for Q1 2015 totalled 1,950 ounces with 388 ounces from the agitation leaching plant, 208 ounces from heap leaching operations and 1,354 ounces from SART processing (Q4 2014: total 3,749 ounces)
· Gold production target for the year to 31 December 2015 is between 70,000 ounces and 75,000 ounces (including approximately 5,000 ounces of production from the small scale flotation plant targeted to be commissioned in Q3 2015)
Sales
· Q1 2015 gold sales of 17,206 ounces at an average of US$1,214 per ounce
· Q1 2015 copper concentrate shipments to the customer totalled 272 dry metric tonnes (“dmt”), containing 162 tonnes of copper
Company financials
· Net debt, being interest-bearing loans and borrowings less cash and cash equivalents, totals US$50.7 million at 31 March 2015 (US$52.4 million at 31 December 2014)
Anglo Asian CEO Reza Vaziri said, “We are delighted to report exceptional gold and copper production for Q1 2015, especially as the first three months of the year have historically seen production capabilities and ore throughput constrained at Gedabek due to the seasonal harsh winter conditions. This is a highly credible performance for the quarter and shows that the various initiatives taken during 2014 to improve production performance are now starting to show positive results.
“In line with this, we are making good progress on the building of our small scale flotation plant and the necessary modifications to enable it to process the tailings of the agitated leach plant. We expect the plant to be commissioned in Q3 2015.
“With this in mind, our production target for 2015 of between 70,000 and 75,000 ounces of gold represents a significant increase of around 16 to 24 per cent. compared to the FY 2014 production of 60,285 ounces. I look forward to providing further updates in due course as we continue to improve our production performance in order to deliver the utmost value for shareholders.”
Gedabek is a polymetallic deposit from which Anglo Asian produces gold, copper and silver from its open pit mining operation. The Company also processes ore from its Gosha deposit, approximately 50 kilometres away from Gedabek. Three different processing methods, agitation leaching, heap leaching and Sulphidisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening are used to produce precious metal and copper.
During Q1 2015, the Company produced 17,193 ounces of gold at Gedabek; 11,222 ounces from the agitation leaching plant, 5,963 ounces from heap leach operations and 8 ounces from SART processing. Anglo Asian completed gold sales of 17,206 ounces of gold at an average of US$1,214 per ounce for Q1 2015.
The Company’s SART plant has been performing well producing copper concentrate and for Q1 2015 copper production totalled 182 dmt. Anglo Asian has a strategic three year sales partnership in place with Industrial Minerals (SA) which commenced in May 2014 for the sale of Anglo Asian copper concentrates. Sales of copper concentrate for Q1 2015 totalled 272 dmt.
Silver production for Q1 2015 totalled 1,950 ounces; with 388 ounces from the agitation leaching plant, 208 ounces from heap leaching operations and 1,354 ounces from SART.
